Kitchen of Stories

By Emmy-Lou Norton

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A giant teacup holds 

a sign retelling a response, 

"thank you for wonderful time." 
 

Seemingly useless household items  

sprout colourful lightbulbs of 

magical flowers 

Much like our own retellings 

Of life and ideas, 

love and loss 

 
I tell you I want change 

so you tell me to do it. 
 

You tell me you hold 

resentment; 

so I tell you 

to let it 

go. 

Our own garden of brightly coloured and brilliant 

light bulbs sprout and stretch and grow, 

in our kitchens full of  

cups and bottles caps and boxes of cereal.  

Above the cans of spaghetti and soup 

but under the electrical box and beside the in-built laundry, 

the sunflowers follow light and the poppy bounces in tune. 

Magical blossoms that we don't know of yet are being planted.  

The small kitchen is beastly and damp  

With expired foods that we can't bear 

to part with. 

Holes in the tea towels and cracks in the grout.  

But where else is acceptable 

For our knick-knack cupboards 

And lightbulbs to sit?  

The tea bags sit next to the spaghetti  

that we will probably boil with laughter and salt, stories and passata. 

  
Burns and scars detail our fingers but 

we pay no mind to this. 

We re-fill each other's cups with anecdotes and love, 

And I thank you; 

For the wonderful time.