Magnalite Pot
8 Qts / 7.5 Liter
Scorched bottom seen a roux or two
Mama keeps it stored below the drawers
That house miscellaneous coupons
The same drawers my curious fingers
Would root through as a bored child
Before we moved when the first flood
Crept through the backyard and up the porch
Fleur de lis all swoops embossed on the silver
Underside and the mind remembers gold
But it’s really the toasted stains of red gravy and roux
The color of peanut butter (a little darker) because that’s how
Mama taught it—grab a chair and keep stirring
Smelling like the three days of fall when
The windows stayed open and the air felt dry