Sarah Dunning Park: A Good Measure

Dinner At Home

The work of the day
is over—
but there is still
the matter of
dinner.

Sometimes,
we succumb
to the drive-thru—
scarfing burgers
in the car,
grease dripping down
the backs of our hands.
Throwing french fries
to appease the backseat.
My stomach tenses up
from suspense, bracing
for the next bite, or gulp,
or pothole in the road.

Rare are the nights
we eat out, without kids.
I wait for it all day, letting
my thirst for red wine
and hunger for red meat
grow without apology.
I savor the ordering
of food prepared
by other hands;
you feast on the distance
from our sink of dishes.

But most evenings
find us at home,
pulling together a meal
out of something old
and something new.
Papers must be pushed aside,
projects relocated.
I call up the stairs to
come eat, right this minute!
 
From the hungry sprinters
to the stragglers
reluctantly parting
with toys, books
or screens,
we find our seats
at the table,
bow our heads.
We take,
and we eat.

Sarah Dunning Park

A Good Measure:  poems by a mother of small children is Sarah Park's poetry blog.  I highly recommend it.  Filled with images of ordinary life's sacred moments, Sarah finds a way to be both honest and honoring with her words.  Like Wendell Berry inside a mother's heart.  I am so glad I found my way to her blog.

Dinner At Home is posted with the permission of the author.