The Pie Not Baked
Fear crowds the pantry. Cans of pureed pumpkin
hold on. White and brown sugar stand in crisp bags.
Spice bottles’ mouths stay sealed. Graham cracker crust
cryosurvives elsewhere, but must defrost
when pecans near an endtime stamped in ink.
Wood shelves hold no excuses for the days
when it was easier to pile food higher
and soundly shut the polished pantry doors.
Instead of fear, I smell apology.
Copyright 2023 by Claudia Gary
Claudia Gary lives near Washington DC and teaches workshops on the Villanelle, the Sonnet, Natural Meter, Poetry vs. Trauma, etc., at The Writer’s Center (writer.org), currently via Zoom. Author of Humor Me (2006) and several chapbooks, most recently Genetic Revisionism (2019), she is also a health science writer, visual artist, and composer of tonal chamber music and art songs. For more information, see:pw.org/content/claudia_gary.
30 for 30 is sponsored by Potomac Review
Sad & scary & sad