First of two parts

By Glenn Dromgoole

We hear a lot these days about food allergies. That’s not what this little collection is about.

It’s about Food Elegies, melancholy tributes in verse to some of the foods we grew up with–and the loving hands who prepared them. A nostalgic reflection on the importance of food and family.

Maybe as you peruse these short “elegies,” you will be encouraged to jot down a few of your own.

Beans and Cornbread
Doesn’t anybody 
know how to cook 
a simple pot of beans
like Mammaw did —

simmered all day,
anticipated all day,
then served with cornbread
and nothing else?

A Pot of Gumbo
When I think of heaven
I believe she is waiting
for me there – my Mom 
with a steaming pot of
seafood gumbo and rice.

Liver and Onions
You can’t find liver and onions
many places these days –
which doesn’t upset 
too many people,
except me and a few others.

Remember When?
A hamburger used to cost
fifty-nine cents,
fries were twenty-nine cents,
and a Coke was a dime?
Of course, that seemed
like a lot back then,
didn’t it?

Movie Date
We could go out for dinner,
then a movie (with popcorn) — 
and we didn’t even have
to take out a second mortgage.

The Milkman
He delivered straight to the fridge
a couple of gallons twice a week,
and it was real milk, 
from 100 percent cows,
and if we were allergic to it,
nobody told us; we just drank it.

First Pizza
What was that awful smell
wafting from the kitchen
of our favorite Italian diner
back the late ‘50s, early ‘60s?
They called it pizza –
and before long it became
a staple – picked up or delivered.

Cream Peas
They would get together
to pick and shell peas —
Mammaw, Mom, her sisters —
but the best part was when
they quit shelling
and started cooking!

Blackeyed Peas
We eat blackeyed peas 
on New Year’s Day
because they are supposed 
to bring us good luck —
an old superstition
(but why take the chance?)

Wedding Reception
Remember when the happy couple
said their vows in church,
and then we went down the hall
for punch and wedding cakes
(one for bride, one for groom)
and we didn’t have to wait an hour
while the family posed for pictures —
and it didn’t cost the family 
a small fortune?

Fried Chicken
Cooked in a cast-iron skillet
the way God intended it to be,
with a pulley bone of course,
and plenty of legs and livers.
Served with rice and cream gravy
and homemade biscuits.

Dinner on the Grounds
All the church ladies
took pride in producing
their best homemade dishes
and there was more than enough
to go around – with seconds (and thirds) –
and be sure to save room
for so many enticing desserts.