Holiday Leftovers
By Paul Klusman
The day after is always blue
Festivities now are spent
The gathering we savored yesterday
Makes way to heart’s lament.
But the friendship and the glee
The warmth and the laughter
Are baked yet into treasure
Brought home for hereafter.
Suspended in a plastic bag
To hold the bounty within
Cradled in paper plates
Wrapped in sheets of tin.
Will find it’s way into corners
Of my fridge in tiny spaces
Above the milk and beside the jam
Held there in tight embraces.
Then later the joy of eating
The sweet and savory
Standing alone in my kitchen
What better company?
Oh prepared by loving hands
Oh joy like a silent tear
Oh lovely holiday leftovers
I’ll see you again next year.
"Leftovers" is really not a good word for something so wonderful. Thanks for giving lovingly prepared food the praise it deserves!
ReplyDeleteAnd so delicious too. What a nice capture of the feeling of holidays and doggie bags, and the comfort of yearly rituals.
ReplyDeletePerfect
ReplyDeleteSmell is directly tied into the memory centers of our brains, so I can imagine how clear the image you'd have of those at the Thanksgiving gathering as you savored your leftovers alone. Because in a sense (no pun intended) you were having leftovers of your memories too. Heart warming Paul, thank you for posting.
ReplyDelete