Hannah's Crusty Butts

Voices, the music, and the heat in the kitchen were rising.

It's  
a simple,
delicious
recipe:

- 2 lbs of ground beef
- add a bit of ground pork, if you like
- and a little ground lamb, too, if you like
- mix in some minced garlic
- add some cumin, ground, not seed
- maybe some red peppers, depending up 
your preferences or allergies
- bake until crusty!

It isn't 
the ingredients
that made the difference
or made the night,
it was the chatter,
the side conversations,
the rememberances
of the glory days,
the old stories 
between old friends,
of old girlfriends
and old boyfriends,
sharing current points of view
and appreciating 
the differences.

Hannah Putnam, Oct. 2024

Hannah saw this all,
way back,
way before she rolled 
the ground meat and spices
into small meatballs,
stuffed them with gorganzola,
laid them on a baking sheet,
and slid them in 
the hot oven.

Few in the room even noticed!

Voices were rising,
so was the music
and the heat 
in the kitchen
as the room filled 
with a savory aroma
of carmelized edges 
of meat and cheese, 
a faint smokey haze 
hanging in the air,
more wine please.

Conversations 
returned to what's new,
how's your mom,
how're your kids, 
how about them Yankees,
I hear you moved,
I like your haircut, 
all short and natural.

Hannah sipped
her wine,
chardonnay please,
as she surveyed the room
and noticed 
all the crusty butts 
were gone!