Vox Populi
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Barbara Crooker: Gravy
To make good gravy, you must be patient,
let the juice settle to the bottom, let the fat
float to the top in all its golden light. Skim
it with a thin spoon, take its measure. Equal
it with flour, sprinkle with salt, speckle
with pepper. Stir constantly in the roasting pan,
making figure eights with a wooden spoon.
Scrape off strips of skin, bits of meat; incorporate
them in the mixture, like a difficult uncle
or the lonely neighbor invited out of duty.
Keep stirring. Hand the wooden baton
to one of your daughters; it’s time for her
to start learning this music, the bubble and
seethe as it plays the score. One minute
at the boil, then almost like magic, it’s gravy,
a rich velvet brown. Thin it with broth,
stir in chopped giblets, then pour into
its little boat, waiting with mouth open.
Take up your forks, slide potatoes, stuffing,
gravy, into your mouth, hum under your breath.
Oh, the holy family of gravy, all those
little odd bits and pieces, the parts that could
be discarded, but aren’t; instead, transformed
into a warm brown blanket that makes
delicious every thing it covers.
~~~
Barbara Crooker is the author of twelve chapbooks and ten full-length books of poetry. Her many awards include the WB Yeats Society of New York Award, the Thomas Merton Poetry of the Sacred Award, and three Pennsylvania Council fellowships in literature.
Copyright 2008 Barbara Crooker. From Line Dance (Word Press, 2008.)
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I was doing prep work for Thanksgiving right before I read your poem. Now my stomach’s growling and I have about 23 hours to wait. Mmmmmm!
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Thanks, Alarie!
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Ha! Hunger is the best cook, as my grandmother used to say!
M
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I wish I could call my mom and read her this poem–she’d love it. Thank you, Barbara! And a peaceful Thanksgiving to you and all.
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Glad to see you here, Meg! Welcome aboard.
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Thanks, Meg! I wish I could read this to my mother, too!
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When asked around the family table tomorrow what I am thankful for I will name each person around that table (my tiny but so dearly loving family), my beloved best friend, my rescue dog Luna, my jacaranda tree, my 5 favorite poets, the skies above the Pacific, my good legs that still take me on long walks every single day, and the Vox Populi community — who have been so truly kind, so welcoming to me. Thank you all, thank you Michael.
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Yes, thank you, Michael!
And, if I may add, this poem is really about Inclusion–I’m the mother of a 40 year old son with autism, one of those “little odd bits and piece that could be discarded, but aren’t. . . .”
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My grandson with Williams Syndrome. Missing my daughter in law and granddaughter who will be returning from Greece
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Thank you, Laure-Anne. The lyric genius and guiding spirit of these pages.
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Yes, a happy Thanksgiving to everyone who reads Vox Populi. And those who make it happen. To all those who learn here from fabulous poems or insightful essays, give yourself an extra-large dollop of gravy. At the family Thanksgivings in Houston or Memphis we always sailed the gravy boat. Most of the year it was in drydock.
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Happy Thanksgiving, Jim. I love your smart generous learned comments in this arena.
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Ah. The inherited gravy boat and its memories and no child wants the old stuff.
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It has been a great pleasure to be part of such a generous community of readers and writers.
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I make the vegetarian version of this gravy and it’s delicious 🙂
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it’s about food and love.❤️
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Recipe?
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Thanks, Lisa!
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Food and love. Yes.
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Food and love, perfect!
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Memories so mixed with food. My mom’s lumpy gravy, learning the ropes for perfect gravy from my first mother in law. Wondering if it is worth it to make a little vegetarian gravy for tomorrow . Remembering the wonderful cult vegetarian restaurant in San Diego that makes wonderful gravy with their neatloaf and mashed potatoes. Realizing a trip to the restaurant will be in order after this holiday where I ask with each passing dish, “this one is veggie, right?”
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Ahahaha. Sometimes when I’m having dinner with someone, they actually apologize to me for eating meat. I try to put them at ease, of course, but I think to myself, apologize to the anima you’re eating, not to me.
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YUM!
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So wonderful Barbara! Hits the spot!
Happy Thanksgiving!
I fixed the collards this morning, and they’ll be perfect tomorrow.
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Happy Thanksgiving, Sean! I love the large generous spirit you bring to our community. Thank you!
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Generous is the description of Michael Simms and this awesome site we all enjoy to no end!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and Eva! So glad to share this world with you!
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Thanks, Sean. And to you and yours, happiness.
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