This poem was written for my father, Del Smith. Much love to you–and happy father’s day.
When I was a girl with a cinnamon grin,
wildflower stew was my favorite recipe.
We camped with other fathers
teaching their daughters off-roading
and rifle-loading and the placement of tent pegs—
everything my father wished I knew
and nothing I wanted to.
But when the afternoons slowed
And softened in the summer heat
My father would find me
By a silvered stump and saucepan,
My happiness as wild as the flowers
I battered to bits, making magic
Of the ingredients.