american lasagna

she showed up unannounced
with a brown bag of groceries

took off her coat and scarf
before turning the oven on

and scrounging around
for all the right utensils

"i assumed you'd have eggs"
she said, taking two from the fridge

she browned meat with fresh garlic
let sauce simmer on the stove

grated cheeses and boiled pastas
and piled the lot into a large square pan

and while it cooked in the oven
she cleaned up the mess

without introducing herself
she instructed us

to take the foil off the lasagna
when the timer sounded

and let it cook until the cheese bubbled up

she kissed me on the cheek,
passed me a clean spatula

and left through the back door
putting her coat on as she went.

swat tea

the swat team, scheduled to infiltrate
a house on circuit road south,

ended up taking tea with a sweet old lady
at a house on circuit road north.

the gingerbread house

offerings of fancy

off the ship, he greeted her
with offers of red currents
and baby pears anjou

but could not convince
this lady in extravigant green
to take him in for the night