When I am struggling with one of Malinda’s recipes,
or my son has had a fit, I put on “I Shall Be Released.”
Nina sings her intentions, and my heart chakra
unwinds like the tattoo of a coral heart embraced by
thorns—what my son will emblazon on his tricep
just before mounting a cobalt Harley on his sixteenth
birthday. If Simone can’t help you find an easement,
laudanum will do the trick. If Malinda was such a good
cook, she should have included a recipe for freedom
pie: one bite to teleport all kinfolk North.
"Cooking in the Key of Nina" appears in Grimoire and is published here with the kind permission of the author.
The ALL Review is pleased to present our How to Live series, poems chosen to help readers navigate these difficult and rapidly changing times.
