Some Words Mean So Much More

I've been thinking about this poem ever since I read it. To me, it speaks about so much more than baking bread. (Words like 'love', 'progression', and 'creation' come to my mind.) I love this woman's poetry, it speaks to my soul.

BAKING BREAD

There seemed more accusation

Than admiration

In Vivian's voice

When she said,

"Well, I wish I had time

To bake bread!"...

And so sometimes when

The loaves were in the oven

And Vivian was at the door

Louise mumbled something about

Another bake sale again

 

And never even tried to explain

Her near-religious ritual:
 

How the flour on her fingers

Was the sun and the rain

And the earth
 

How the thump of her palms

On the dough

Was the dance of women

On the ancient threshing floor

 

How the smell of baking

Leavened her

And left her believing that

We rise, we rise
 

And how the cutting

Of the first warm slice

For the first child home

Made her a bounteous goddess

With life in her hand.
 

(Pearson, Carol Lynn, "Baking Bread", Beginnings and Beyond, Springville: Cedar Fort, 2005. 77. Print)