artwork: vincent van gogh
Pumpernickel
by M.J. Iuppa
If
the color yellow runs out
with
what will we make bread?
~ Neruda
Without
sun’s warm buttery light
spilling
onto the kitchen’s table–
without
lemons resting side by side
in
our mother of pearl bowl–
without
candlelight sputtering
surprise–
yelp of the yellow dog
lying
across the threshold, listening
for
slow footsteps returning
to
an hour that’s groundless
in
its long wait– the clock’s tick
unlocks
the world mimicking
other
worldliness– when all we wanted
was
to break bread. Forgetfulness
sounds
like forgiveness when yellow
runs
out in the way fields of winter
wheat
sway in question . . .
See
how dark mahogany rises–
coarse
swell of sourdough–
this
steaming loaf found
in
the hands of strangers.
~
first published in Tar
River Poetry.
