Thanksgiving Ghosts

THANKSGIVING GHOSTS

I’ll set the table. Decoration, antique turkey candle. I’m not alone.

Round dining table, empty chairs—expressway to a memory phone.

I call-up Mom. Her basted turkey juicy, crisp brown—artistic ghost,

tasty festive food array—pretty as covers of Saturday Evening Post.

Aroma, berry pie drippings sizzling on foil-lined rack, smoky incense,

brings on a blissful Pavlovian response—taste buds dancing intense.

I call-up Dad. All dolled up, giddy laughter detailed a turkey dressing,

family with friends—control giggles—saying the Thanksgiving Blessing.

This year I will go to the deli for a turkey feast with savory side dishes,

start to dine on pie first—remembering years of Thanksgiving wishes.

April Ryan is a retired Seattle bus driver turned Seattle writer/poet whose recent poem was chosen for use in the Official Seattle Poet’s poetry blog!

SHARING STORIES is a weekly column for and about the 50 plus crowd living in the Puget Sound region. Send your stories and photos to ariele@comcast.net. Tell local or personal stories; discuss concerns around aging and other issues; share solutions, good luck, and reasons to celebrate; poems are fine too. Pieces may be edited or excerpted. We reserve the right to select among pieces. Photos are always a plus and a one-sentence bio is requested (where you live, maybe age or career, retired status, etc.).

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