Why Do We Set the Table?

Why Do We Set the Table? by NaBeela Washington

Why Do We Set the Table?
At what temperature does blood begin to boil? Thicken into a roux, slip between bits of basil, minced garlic, orecchiette; Permeate chunks of spicy kielbasa, bind a dash of salt, pepper, bubbles roiling forth, then dissipating, heat lowered to a hush; Congeal from the shock of cool clay dishes as a small mound is delicately plated with a large plastic spoon; Spurt steam, burning both nostrils, as we lean in to say grace, my father’s seat empty, placemat bare.

At what temperature does blood begin to boil?

Comments

Abigail George said…
The father is both castle and kingdom, familiar certainty and unfamiliar terrain.

The memory, loss speaks to us in ways we cannot fathom, and grief instructs us to be on our best behaviour in public spaces.

There's something so melancholic and brutally violent about grief, the love we no longer have, going on living without the parent in the picture any longer.

Our soul paints on the canvas of our soul what remains. The symphony of the remembrance of all things past.