Lima Beans

Cassie Premo Steele's poem What I wish I could say was third runner-up in the First Ever vox poetica Poetry Contest (it appeared here in January 2011). Her book This is how honey runs is available at unbound CONTENT in both print and audiobook versions. This poem is classic Cassie.

Lima Beans
By Cassie Premo Steele

Both my girls like lima beans.
At first I thought it was a fluke.

The first one didn't come from
my belly; I couldn't claim her

taste. But the second did:
I named her when she was

a lima bean in me. Last night
for supper I made lima beans

and kale. They ate it up 
like chocolate. I spooned

one bowl in me slowly,
like those skinny ladies.

They asked for seconds
and I scooped them more.

I did not know mothering
would be like this: giving

what they want, letting go
of what we wished.

Posted by Annmarie at 6/2/2011 11:51 PM
Categories: today's words
Tags: Cassie Premo Steele lima beans taste nurturing motherhood love
 

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  • 6/4/2011 9:07 PM bobbie troy wrote:
    Great poem. The last four lines say it all. We never do know what mothering is until we get there.
    Reply to this
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