Yield: 1 Servings
| Measure | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 1 \N | Text |
mama burns the milk in the black pan as she stirs brown sugar in by hand
bringing it to a simmer humming a wordless tune which echoes through the
room in rhythm with the stirrings of the wooden spoon adding in droplets
of water like tears in the mixture to keep the pan from scalding when she feels the thickness she pours the steaming liquid into rows of
iron molds scorching her fingers as the steam comes back upon her like
words in retribution but she continues in her motions until the pan is
emptied
mama sits on a broken chair wiping the sweat dripping from her hair as
the cool begins to harden the candies in their prison closing her eyes
only for a moment before rising to put up the milk and sugar and to wash
the cold dirtied pan to make room for evening dinner as mama boils a pan of water she begins to hum the same wordless tune
David E. Cowen
Copyright 1996