Sunburst bloom / marble leaf / petal frill—a flower of many flowers / I couldn’t name / from our garden / grown of many gardens / my grandmother foraged.
Because in her neck of Florida, she wasn’t raised / on tornado drills or water moccasins / but instead on hurricane precaution / and how to kill coral snakes.
I’ve traded lessons for my kitchen mixer gears / to be packed with new grease. / Since then, decades of birthday cakes. / Traded lessons for porch steps made wrong, / the all-wood support after one year / melting to grass. Trading time / for music. . . .
Get the dough, roll it out paper thin, one tablespoon of filling—a little more—yes, like that. Now, marry the edges. She is teaching me how to make dumplings.