Buttermilk Pie

Susan L. Helwig
From:   Catch the Sweet. Toronto: Seraphim Editions, 2001.

Rosewater
olive oil
pitted dates
the words for each in the language of Homer & Plato
everything belongs to someone else
in this Danforth groceteria
even these words in lines
invented long ago by others
the poem itself, a recipe for thoughts
used again and again
repetitious and not new
I might as well give up on that right from the start
pay homage to Atwood, Ondaatje, Crozier
in the dedication
perhaps the way I'm stirring the ingredients together
is mine alone, like buttermilk pie
found in a hand-written book of my grandmother's
or the trick of separating the eggs
(my mother showed me this)
how to bake it slowly
so important
just the right amount of nutmeg
for success.

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Susan L. Helwig's works copyright © to the author.