Heritage

Poem #3 –  Stamp collection – National/Global Poetry Writing Month 2017

Heritage

What do we pass on?
Our values
Work ethic
Protruding big toes
Kitchen skills
The “old” ways
A Heritage of handcraft

Grandma Dorothy’s twisted fingers
massaging dough for cheese bread
set to rise near
the wood stove

I think of her as I find comfort
in kneading the elastic creature,
setting my dough to rise
in a sunny spot

Mom sitting cross-legged
opposite me on the floor
so I could learn to knit right-handed
showing me how to loop yarn
over worn knitting needles

Full blooded German Grandma Helyn
making German Potato salad
from memory
her secret of bacon grease
carries on

Hay-time lemonade
made a gallon at a time
and toted to the fields
in a pasteurizer pail
is in my recipe box
and a part of our heritage

Dad mixing spicy BBQ sauce
with sweet sauce
and a splash of wine
to give ‘er zing
passing down a love of
slow grilled chicken
served with a bucket of corn
roasted in the husks
and wet wash clothes
for wiping saucy mouths

Up and down the family tree
we over-fill our pies
bubbling and running over
sweet stuff in the oven

I smile thinking
how a sticky oven
and showing love through
time together creating
is our family heritage.