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Sep 26, 2023Liked by Phyllis Cole-Dai

Stew

A late fall and winter dish

My mother

Constructed from a little of this

And a little of that

From previous meals

Discovered in the refrigerator.

Add a helping of spice

Simmer for an afternoon

Enjoy steaming hot

In a thick oversized mug

Or bowl

With a fresh slice of a

Favorite bread.

Stewfully satisfying.

Stew

An everyday dish served by my mother,

Though she preached that

She never stewed about

Anything

In reality she stewed about

Everything.

Constructed from a little of this

And a little of that

From previous conversations and situations

Add a helping of self-righteousness

Simmer for a day…or a week,

Enjoy sharing it with anyone who would listen

With an inflated sense of importance.

Stewfully satisfying.

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author

I'm reading these as two different but related poems. Correct? Very different tones and depictions! Thank you for sharing . . .

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Oct 6, 2023Liked by Phyllis Cole-Dai

Yes, when I copied and pasted them in, the dividing space between them disappeared.

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author

Yeah, Substack needs to up its formatting game! Maybe next time use *** as a divider? Just a thought!

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