Nothing Fancy

I am from hush puppies & barbeque

from chitlins & fat backs

hog maws & hog jaws & grits & scrapple.

Outside stands a dogwood tree we have let

overgrow from laziness

& a driveway cracked

with blades of grass.

I am from Rosemary & Stanley

the last model in the series.

Around our house honeysuckle blesses the air,

seasons the heat of summer into a main dish.

I am a plum black garnish to the day.

Wafts of smoke from pots on the stove

steam the kitchen.

Salt & Pepper stand at attention

next to the potholders on the counter.

Dinner is ready—no time for parsley.

"Nothing Fancy" appears in my first poetry collection,

Underlife. ©2009 CavanKerry Press.