"clarity of purpose..."

hidden in the nutmeg seed,
a clove of garlic,
bay leaves dried for tomorrow's use...
is the secret that

each have a clear scent, a precise flavor,
a clarity of purpose...

I close my eyes and lift the lid
even before the seed is grated, I
know...
pumpkin soup, and quiche lorraine
i can taste them as surely as if they were
baking, simmering, stewing on
the old farmstove in the corner

the next jar takes me straight to naples and
a cafe near the mediterrenean sea.  I can
feel the taunt skin of roma tomatoes and
hear verdi and puccini pouring from
the old victrola in the summer kitchen
the plumpness of a clove of sweet garlic between
my fingers...

and when the third jar releases her rich perfume
I am not a woman standing in an abandoned
prairie farmhouse before a shelf of forgotten
spices and herbs, I am a small girl sitting on the
counter of her own mother's kitchen learning that
brittle bay leaves come alive in red sauce
and that this is where a family is born...

in the scent of bay leaves, and garlic, and nutmeg
...grated for pie, or soup, or sauce...
and in a mother's encouragement
to close your eyes and breathe deeply
so that you will know
where each one fits...