She would pour milk into a bowl of cookies and call it cereal.

As for me and mine, we just cook with turmeric and thyme.

Chia seeds and pineapple always adorn his pizza.

As for me and mine, we just cook with turmeric and thyme.

Starting each morning eating melon clean down to the rind.

As for me and mine, we just cook with turmeric and thyme.

Pan-fried salmon in cornbread mix - cakey fritter snacks,

but always seasoned with turmeric and thyme.

That's how I know what I make is mine.

***

I am warm, rustic and bright in my bitter.

Staining the ochre of my soul on everything I touch.

The scent of me is like a homegrown thistle -- bristly.

- Unforgettable - 

Like a nuisance,

An impetus,

A catalyst...

...something provocative. 

Like Change.

***

A fermata of an off-key whole note 

in the middle of a concerto of fleeting, staccato, eighth note, chirps.

The bumbling burps of life

jumping over strife like half notes or speed bumps.

***

My fingers never stumble pouring wine into tumblers,

preferring those over long-stemmed roses made of glass.

My grip was always too tight to hold them right.

My anxiety would grip the brittle stems until the blood-bright fluid...

...stained everything.