Tea Time Patricia Anne McGoldrick
Today... There is no one in the kitchen, except For Mother and me Stainless steel kettle on the wood-burning stove Water always bubbling and ready for tea Just pour into the china blue pot Let it weep over brown leaves with glee While I drape the table with Grandmother's lace, then Set the table with Royal Albert cups from the cherry wood cabinet Just enough for Mother and me It's best when served with buttermilk biscuits And a jar of home-made strawberry jam Or maybe some shortbread from Auntie's plaid tin The tea is ready to pour now as we, gracefully, sit down And for afternoon tea, O how eager I am... Today... There is no one in the kitchen, except me the Mother and Anne named after my Mother Stainless steel kettle on the electric stove, waiting for a burner to be turned on It's time for tea... There is no one in the kitchen, except for my daughter and me.
©1998 Published originally under my married name, Patricia McGoldrick Goldberg, in Our Particular Pleasures, Waterloo Community Arts Centre Cookbook.