Tuesday Poem

Cooking for One

I rediscover omelettes

and become a fan

and everything

tastes better with harissa.

Langoustines were a labour

I’d rather do for love

although I’ve kept their claws frozen

with respect for that woman in my past

who would have cooked the stock and made the bisque.

It’s true I miss my oven like a lover

linger in the cook book section

and cruise the kitchenware at BHV –

Le Crueset reduced for summer

and all those knives.

There’s barely space to chop

in the closet that is my kitchen

and no room in my bed for anyone but me.

When you come over, we’ll have to start from scratch

as though teenagers again, holding the recipe open

with a nervous, bloodied finger

while we check ingredients

and recite the method like a prayer.

 Catherine Bateson, July 2013

Head over to the Tuesday Poem blog to get  your double-serve of poems! This week the guest curated poem is by Australian poet, Robert Gray, curated by Jennifer Compton.