Here in my shiny, new kitchen
I have appliances for most every need
To make cooking and cleaning much easier
But there's no big family to feed



I still think about Mother's kitchen
Though it was such a long time ago
I can see her kneading the heck out of
A blob of homemade biscuit dough



She'd pinch and roll and pat each one
Then place them in the pan so neat
From the scraps, she'd make a little squiggle
For the baby of the family to eat



One of the girls helped with breakfast
And packed school lunches for the little ones
Another one washed up the dishes
Keeping the kitchen neat till we got done



From after breakfast till 'round four o'clock
Pinto beans and fatback simmered slow
Corn bread baked in a cast iron skillet
And fried potatoes made supper for us folk



Mother had great big old blue bowl
And for dipping, a long-handled spoon
That bowl held gravy in the morning
And pinto beans in the afternoon 



Multi-purpose and not just for cooking
It heated water, made fudge and parched corn
A kind of incubator for dozens of little bitties
Kept in a box behind the stove to keep warm



Heating washtubs of water for Saturday baths
In a way, that stove helped keep us clean
I remember the warmer on Sunday afternoon
That held Mother's rice pudding with meringue



Many a fire was built in that old cook stove
Started with kindling we all helped chop
We huddled 'round it for warmth in the winter
And sweated buckets when the weather was hot



Wouldn't mind having Mother's stove in my kitchen
Even with all its dirty soot, rattles and squeaks
It's strange how those old-timey cook stoves
Now sell for outrageous prices as antiques



Kathleen McCoy Eldridge©
May 24, 2008
All Rights Reserved




Mother's Spoon