Don\u2019t throw away those<\/p>\n
stale slices of squashed bread<\/p>\n
still in their plastic sleeve<\/p>\n
squeezed into the breadbox<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve merged three loaves and<\/p>\n
When I have a few more slices<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll check for mold and<\/p>\n
Cut rectangles across the rest and<\/p>\n
Dip them in a butter bath<\/p>\n
infused with minced garlic<\/p>\n
The oven will bake them<\/p>\n
For snacks (not croutons!)<\/p>\n
Chased by sweet lemonade and<\/p>\n
We’ll remember<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Before Bernice died<\/p>\n
In her 96th year<\/p>\n
She taught us<\/p>\n
To not give up<\/p>\n
on what may seem stale and<\/p>\n
of no possible use.<\/p>\n
There are still tasty treats and the sweet life<\/p>\n
even in someone else\u2019s trash<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When we share the bread —<\/p>\n
a holy communion of laughter — with<\/p>\n
each piece a Bernice story<\/p>\n
We remember together her garden<\/p>\n
that only blooms in our memory<\/p>\n
Her ceramics we can hold and<\/p>\n
touch, reminding us<\/p>\n
how warm and full of life she was<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We are consumed with the laughs and memories<\/p>\n
As we remind ourselves of her strength<\/p>\n
and our weakness<\/p>\n
How she climbed 3-foot snow banks<\/p>\n
while we searched to find an easier way<\/p>\n
The time she was 90 and<\/p>\n
we worried when she didn\u2019t show up<\/p>\n
when she was expected and<\/p>\n
discovered after she finally arrived that<\/p>\n
she\u2019d climbed atop the garage<\/p>\n
To retrieve what had fallen there and<\/p>\n
put it to use<\/p>\n
before someone threw it away<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Don\u2019t throw away those stale slices of squashed bread still in their plastic sleeve squeezed into the breadbox I\u2019ve merged three loaves and When I have a few more slices I\u2019ll check for mold and Cut rectangles across the rest and Dip them in a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":853,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[5783],"class_list":["post-136400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marathon-poem","tag-marathon2023"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/853"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136400"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145385,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136400\/revisions\/145385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}