Charles Henderson Poet Free verse

Aunt Della's Dumplings

Please don’t think I mean any disrespect.
I mean this only in the nicest way.
Della was a funny person.
I’ll love and remember ‘til my dying day.
From the hips up she was a size sixteen
From the hips down a ten.

She had a laughing voice,
a musical tone
and said funny things.
It just flowed naturally, like she
was always in a zone.
Everyone loved Della and...
Her dumplings!!

At the gatherings she would bring the 
biggest pot imaginable. 
Filled to the brim with 
steaming, heavenly, chicken and dumplings.
The aroma infused every thing around.
Light and tasty,
the best I have ever found.

I was a married man before braving
my first pot of dumplings.
What a mess.
At least I started small.
I definitely had not found my call.
Even tho I did my best, 
it was not good enough.

At first they would be too dry.
If wet enough they were too thick.
If thin enough they didn’t have any taste.
Lord what a waste.  
Of time and good chicken.

I think I got my first passable lot 
about the age of fifty.
How much flour and chicken 
I had ruined
was a thing of which 
Ripley would be proud.

That first pot of tasty, hand rolled 
essence of success
was so nifty
I wanted to just sniff and gloat.
And wait til someone said,
Those dumpling are as good as Della’s. 

© Apr 04 2010

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Doris Culverhouse April 5, 2010 at 5:26 AM I have made edible ones but not like my nanny---she was the best. I still don't know how she made them so creamy.

Jessica Arteaga April 4, 2010 at 10:52 PM well it least you kept trying, now i want to try those dumplings also, actually i think i never had had dumplings like those only the asian ones <.<