By CARLA OFFENBURGER
DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 2, 2017 – My mother Sue Burt’s pumpkin bread has always been a family favorite. We often pester her to make some. But let me just tell you the story in this poem.
Cans of Pumpkin
Laughter and giggles – galore.
And cans of pumpkin.
And my mom.
Months ago she wanted to make pumpkin bread.
We bought the pumpkin, the sugar, the eggs.
We got the cookbook out.
And then she put it off, and put it off, and put it off.
Or she forgot (which happens more and more lately).
Or she just didn’t make it.
Never mind that she promised to bring her pumpkin bread to
every holiday event that came and went over Christmas and New Year’s.
And here we were now in her kitchen and she told me she didn’t have room
for the canned vegetables she just bought.
Would I take them to the food pantry, she asked.
I opened the cupboard and together we counted 8 cans of pumpkin.
She always forgot to make it, but never forgot to buy it.
And we giggled, and giggled and giggled.
And the next day she made pumpkin bread.
Sue Burt, shown here checking some chicken cooking in a crock pot, really does make good pumpkin bread — when she gets around to making it.
You can write the poet by email at carla@Offenburger.com, or by using the handy form below here.
