Culinary

Gray to peach to red to gold,

a new morning finds me newly old

& cooking long-forgotten meals

I learned from TV celebrity chefs, the tall

ones — James Beard & Julia Child.

My 1960s Cambridge butcher rented space in his cold

storage. There I kept lamb shoulder

& sirloin steaks, a basketful

labeled with my name.

He collars me once, bolder

than usual (the man was pudgy, bald,

a lecher copping a feel)

& squeals, They’ve come from New York to buy my veal,

his eyes boring into me, wild.

I follow him into the cooler — Julia & James.