chagall backdrop

Tonight while you prepare dinner,
consider the potatoes,
this year’s harvest,
as you brush away clay
baked on skins
of your own sowing.

Sacrifice every 8th potato
to seed.

Store the keepers dry
give them room in which not-to-rot

– in an airy place,
a room-to-breathe space.

Keep your ovens hot
and your pans well-oiled
– and hot.

Sizzle a spud
in sea-salt and oil,
thyme perhaps,
or oregano.

© Chagall, 2013