Stillness in the house.

 

Only two awake in the kitchen.

All the others quiet in their beds.

We two chop onions and celery,

Chop and chop--

The pieces piling up in mounds.

Then the bread cut into pieces, too.

 

In the pan, the savories give up crispness for aroma.

Then they join the fragrant sage in a rich mix.

 

The bird itself fills the sink

larger than two of the biggest babies.

 

We stuff the bird together:

It takes at least three hands.

 

It is ready for the oven in good time,

Still before the start of the day.

In it goes a job well done.

 

It is only once a year,

But the memory lasts a lifetime.

 

Willem

12/03/12