Happy Easter to those who celebrate it! Instead of writing an Easter-specific poem, I chose to finish a poem I had started a few days ago and spend more time enjoying the day.
This is my version of a persona poem, though I believe a true one would have a character using the first person “I” rather than talking to themselves with the second person “you.”
A Recipe for Quarantine
by Lauren Hallstrom
Find the brown sugar and all-purpose flour
that have been sitting in the back of the pantry for ages
and mix it together in your favorite mixing bowl
that still has the price tag on it
even though the inside is scraped and scratched.
Use the last egg and some butter
that you forgot to let sit out, so you stir
and stir and stir and
decide that this will be your indoor
arm work out because you could never
do a push-up anyway.
It’s your own fault you never put a stand mixer
on your wedding registry
because you were young and didn’t think about those things.
Find the two bananas you bought but knew
would just sit on the counter until they were practically moldy
and squash them
because a wire masher is something you did know to buy.
Let all the stress from existing within four walls
seep down your arm and into what you are making.
Forget to measure the baking powder and cinnamon and salt exactly
and just sprinkle them like the snow that still falls outside
for your own entertainment.
Let your toddler mix the rest and then fish out
the spoon he accidentally sneezed on
and pour the mixture into a loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until
you get tired of waiting.
Stare through the oven window the whole time,
watching the surface bubble with life
and reminding yourself that
the whole is just the sum of its parts.
Lauren Hallstrom 