102

 

Remember to start the oven, thaw the turkey, warm up the buns

One more meal, from thousands cooked over years

But different.

Enjoy the slice of a knife, the smell of stuffing, the simmer of gravy

Resist the urge to taste the pie. Not yet!

Timer beeps, baste the bird with butter.

 

Nice to rest in between baking

Off our feet, adventures in ink on the page

Remember not to drink all the bourbon -- save some for the potatoes

Make coffee instead,

Abundance of flavors melt in the air -- breath deep -- inhale the peace

Nameless emotion wraps you in wool -- mixing past holidays, missing faces, and hope. Odd cocktail.

 

Help yourself to some stuffing -- just checking the taste.

Observe the texture, the flavor, the wisdom of one hundred years

Yearn for the ghosts you can just barely see -- balcony people nearly appear

Eclipsing all others -- the honor of making a meal for one who has met over one hundred years.