A Cook

He started when he was a kid

They were poor and did not

Have much to eat

At ten or eleven

In New Jersey

He learned to make lasagna

From his Italian uncle

And sausage and sauces

From his Italian neighbors

As an early adult

He was a young prodigy

Working as an executive chef

For different hotels

He fed hundreds at a time

He went to Switzerland

To test at La Cirque

He wrote menus

And opened many restaurants

For the hotels

At nineteen

I was a hungry vegan

I met him, my love

And he was working at Simpatico

There was an endless buffet

Of antipasto

Risotto with butter and cream

Pastrami and prosciutto

I tried it all

And was forever changed

In his early forties

He was finishing school

At the University of Washington

To become a veterinarian

But somehow his heart

Was not speaking to him

I asked him if he wanted to be a vet

And he said no

He said he was a cook

And he loved to feed people

Years later we sold delicious tacos

At the local farmer’s market

Summer lines that were unending

People flocked to our booth

Grease dripping down their arms

Chicken, Pork and Tofu

The tofu was out of this world

Pleasing omnivores and

Vegetarians alike

I would go to church on Sundays

He would go to work early

And cook for all of us in the morning

At the local restaurant

He said that was his church

That is how he prayed

He made pancakes and biscuits

He feeds people, this is his god

Now he is disabled

But he still cooks daily

Beautiful meals I post on Instagram

And gourmet dishes

For my parents

He feeds me when I am unwell

He was always a sanctuary for me

In an episode when I would forget to eat

He literally saves people

With his food, delicious and heavenly

It nurtures our souls and our bodies

It is a sacred practice

That he has done his whole life

It is his gift, his art

And he shares it with all of us

His art becomes a part of us

His food saves my soul

To this day