I is for initiative

(n. 1. an introductory act or step; leading action
2. readiness and ability in initiating action; enterprise)

A Mother's Recipe


I buy steak.
I buy potatoes.
I buy broccoli.

I sear the steak
sprinkle thyme.
I dice and boil
potatoes, strain.
I cut and steam
broccoli al dente.

I add to the potatoes:
onion, greek yogurt
parsley, coriander,
basil, nothing more.

My son adds lemon juice
and olive oil to broccoli
just as his girlfriend's
family do. It is a meal!

But where did it begin?
In watching my mother?
In abetting my father?
In using recipe books
abandoning them?
In becoming interested
in gardening? In buying
a house with vegetable
beds already boxed?
In planting, netting, weeding,
carefully distributing water?

This morning I woke
with a commitment
to steak, potato salad,
greens. Steak is for
strength, potato salad
for posterity, greens
for guardianship

On Mother's Day 2010
let it be said: I created
yet another meal from
possibility; my children
even as adults, are well-fed.