a water main ruptured
in the adjacent alley
a few late nights ago
and i sat listening
to the river rushing by
at the sound of thousands
of gallons of water, wasted
my mother woke the next
morning to the same roar
but heard potential in the
furious flow of that false
stream and gathered some
of the gutter-bound liquid
in buckets for her plants
mom hates it
when i whistle
says it’s unladylike
been saying that
long as i
can remember
so long that
i’m sure she
was the reason
i wanted to
learn in the
first place
I am home after a day of work
my mother has been waiting for me
she has been watching Chopped
I can tell because there is
a covered plate on the table
a knowing smile on her lips
and a manic gleam in her eyes
she unveils her culinary masterpiece
cubes fried to a light golden brown
I lift one to my nose inhaling
the aroma of potato and bacon and oil
I toss it into my mouth
laughing as she smiles
I bite through the soft potato
crunch through crispy bacon
as I chew the texture changes
the mouthfeel becomes
something less hard than bacon
something less soft than potato
the taste becomes nutty
my laughter is gone
her smile has become a grin
the curve ball ingredient: sliced almonds
loosing the binds 