She should like to be caught
in the kitchen--if possible,
with a green bowl in her hands.
Because no one has
ever said of her, "Oh my, can she
cook!" and because she feels
this lack of endorsement, if the ash caught
her cooking, the future might infer
that she was good at it.
And it would be hot in the kitchen,
so she wouldn't sense the ash about
to overtake her, and her pose would always
be fresh and unaware, the green bowl forever
a metaphor for bounty, attention to the task
at hand, and caring for one's family with style.
If the food had been burned
or underdone or both,
because of her persistently poor timing,
who would ever know-the ash leaving
all uneaten things endlessly equal.

- Linda Andrews