our mothers at a meeting

Our mother's at a meeting

for some big, important deal,

and couldn't be at home tonight

to cook the evening meal.



She left some short directions

for my sister just to follow.

Instead my sister cooked up things

impossible to swallow.



Like Brussels sprouts in vinegar

and jellybeans in mustard,

an onion-pickle pudding

and a lemon-radish custard.



She burned a stick of butter

'til the house was filled with smoke,

then fried a pound of pepper

with a half an artichoke.



She put a whole banana

in the blender with a steak,

then mixed it up with tunafish

and baked it in a cake.



She stirred some chocolate ice cream

with garbanzo beans and bacon.

A single bite was all it took

to leave me feeling shaken.



We should have ordered pizza

but we didn't know, alas,

my sister is the only kid

who flunked her cooking class.nm