All the ingredients
Aligned in order
Like building
Brick and mortar
Time after time
The recipe fails
Though I have in hand
Boards, hammer, nails
The foundation, laid
The walls in place
Power flowing
Still no space
Can't find the thing
That makes up a home
Tried every avenue
But I'm still alone
If not bread for meal
If not work for peace
If not talk for walk
Then where is there release
I see it now, finally clear
It is the condition of the connection
Lines laden with matter
Is the yeast of convection
...when you just want manna
Written by Trudy Schrader on 06-10-2026d
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three shadows slipped through fluorescent halls,
silent as the dismissal bell's dying hum.
The home ec door—unlocked, of course,
swung wide on hinges slick with grease.
I kept my post beside the lockers,
listening for footsteps down the tile.
The scent of brown sugar and butter
drifted out like a traitor's whisper.
My friends emerged,
the chocolate chip cookie dough bowl
cradled between them,
gleaming under the exit sign's red eye.
Spoons plundered from the cutlery drawer~
our spoils now.
The bench by the soccer field,
pockmarked with old gum,
became our banquet table.
We dug in, sticky-fingered, laughing,
each mouthful sweeter for the sin.
(I only took a taste.
Just enough to lick the spoon clean.
Just enough to be complicit.)
Next morning, the janitor found
the empty bowl washed
and left politely in the sink.
No note. No crumbs~
only the smell of chocolate
and vanilla lingering
like an apology no one would ever hear.
*Related memoir vignette can be read at poetrysoup.com/short_stories/adventures_in_home_ec_class_13676
I've never been much of a baker
But I know how dough rises
Slow beneath the cloth
Flirting with the heat
Warmth living in a quiet bowl
Starting out raw
I know you have to twist the life out of it
Before you let it sit
The weight of my palms
Meeting the resistance of the grain
Sometimes it ends up a masterpiece
Sometimes just a wrangled mess
I know how the kitchen air grows thick
With a slight sweetness
that shakes awake the senses
I know the crackling of the cool bread
and how it soothes a room
I know how it can make a house feel like home
and just sometimes
you have to trust the process
Oh mother, tell your children
not to do what I have done -
to spend the night with a tummy ache
after eating another bun.
Were-Dough!!!
When He Thinks:
'Laugh Out Loud'
He Puts More
Emphasis On
The "Out."
GRRRRRRR...
LOOOOL.
-Gray Squirrel
10-20-2025
With my computer in hand, out the door I dash....
To other people's doors for cash
Picking up to drop off,
Then swiftly to the next stop
Dashing, Grubhubbing, and Ubering galore,
In a sputtering economy, lent-filled pockets I really abhor
Rapacious eyes peruse desktops, tablets, and smartphones for eye-catching menus
Man's incessant search for comfort and convenience hungrily continues
Picking up to drop off,
Then swiftly to the next stop
Dashing, dashing past drive-thrus and beyond dining rooms
Now a fresh and different energy looms
A mad dash for cash
Dough dashing...
Dashing for MO'
So, out my door
I GO
To contactless drop-offs and no eye contact, all spawned from a digital transaction
Distant, yet so close, is this human interaction
A mad dash for cash
Dough dashing...
Dashing for MO'
So, out my door
I GO
Pizza
Pizza dough, gluten free
Prepared with chopped basil
Parmesan cheese, vegan
Prosciutto slices
Pieces of crisp bacon
Parts of baby mushrooms
Pizza sauce, Rao’s home made
Phyllo
Sweet taste of baclava.
Drizzled honey.
Crunchy walnuts.
Hint of nutmeg.
Warmed to delicate crispness.
My mouth waters.
Eyes light with delight.
Nose twitches in anticipation.
But…….
Here I stand at midnight.
My kitchen a doughy mess.
Rolling and re-rolling phyllo dough
My trials and tribulations
on display with cracked
and torn doughy pieces
spread across the counter.
Exhausted, ready to give up.
The baklava seems miles away.
Time wasted proving I can’t
make phyllo dough.
I slouch in my chair.
Depression seeps into my soul.
Then, with a grin, I remember
my favorite Greek restaurant opens
in the morning.
I love the smell of Play Dough
I put it on my nose and inhale
It is marvelous, as usual
I put it on my cheeks, and on my chin
I used to eat it
But I was younger then
I take another smell of it
Nothing like it!
No other fragrance in the world teases me like this one
I really want to eat it
But the taste is always a disappointment
A tribute to Poetry Soup's Emilia James
I don't like to be namin' names,
but check out Emilia James.
You'll find your poetic reward
in the tale of an ant and his sword.
She mixes words into cookie dough
until she's got it, well...just so.
Then, for her next funny feature,
we can enjoy another creature.
Her characters made me laugh
so hard I almost split in half.
I hope she makes up some other guys,
specializing in the smaller size.
From Washington to the Kremlin,
they're talkin' 'bout her tooth gremlin.
If all these cute guys aren't enough,
She writes about serious stuff.
You'll hear of Mother Nature's wrath,
and unsafe landmines in your path,
When you think, "it can't get better", bud,
There's Mr. Potato. Call him Spud.
I
am
a rock
of ages
I am that I am
In the beginning was the Word
As it were the Word was with God, and the Word was God
I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me
I shall mould thee
Saidth the board
To be adorned
Forever and ever
Red pigment
Which with
Cement looks like
Clay
I shall mould thee
That ye shall stand
Forever
Throughout eternity
Forever and a day
Georgia an alkal
Fiber mesh
The winds and rain
Stand to ah-test
Wakes and Papahanaumoku
Shall recreate the world
to bring it to anew
Bonus beneath me
The name of earth
Annada the dieti
To have birth
Thin stone veneer stone
A boarded tyveked Cobb
To pompous and arrogant
Like a snob
Kaulu the trickster
To ah-test
Of it's beauty one
Must confess
Each corner
Supports the other
Under a storms
And sun
Each day a new day
We as one
I shall mould thee
Saidth the board
To be adorned
Forever and ever
Red pigment
Which with
Cement looks like
Clay
I shall mould thee
That ye shall stand
Forever
Throughout eternity
Forever and a day
Georgia an alkal
Fiber mesh
The winds and rain
Stand to ah-test
Wakes and Papahanaumoku
Shall recreate the world
to bring it to anew
Bonus beneath me
The name of earth
Annada the dieti
To have birth
Thin stone veneer stone
A boarded tyveked Cobb
To pompous and arrogant
Like a snob
Kaulu the trickster
To ah-test
Of it's beauty one
Must confess
Each corner
Supports the other
Under a storms
And sun
Each day a new day
We as one
Gotta date
with my baby
out on the town
with my gal
wearing the
new shoes
my honey
gave me
she's dolled up
in diamonds
and pearls
stepping out
with my lady
supper
and dancing
what ah
wonderful world
go to the rink
skate ah
little while
she's got a fashion
she's gotta style
we'll skate a bit
and dance a while
I'll kiss her cheek
to make her smile
Malo
she ah Ego taming
man shaming
backbiting
Lover of known
she got soothing curves
sexy hips
wearing makeup
and gloss on her lips
sexy lady
make it crazy
I can't help
but indulge myself
Le Femme
She has flaws
it's just because
she been able to get
all the men she likes
course she knows best
and what with the rest
belittled and criticized
she likes the sound of
her voice
leaving little room for
others to
contribute too
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