Poetry Friday: Simmering Echoes

Each Friday, I am excited to take part in Poetry Friday, where writers share their love of all things poetry. Linda B. has the Poetry Friday Roundup today at Teacher Dance. Drop by and see what poetry morsels are offered this week.

We have stretched out our Christmas celebrations well into the new year. After eating and enjoy yet one more Christmas dinner, I enjoyed my favorite part of the turkey–turning the leftover bones into broth that then becomes the beginning of soup simmering on the stove. As the old year turns the page into a new year, I hope I can take the scraps from last year and turn the into something delicious for this year.

Simmering Echoes

Echoes of conversation and laughter
drift through the quiet house
as empty plats stack up beside the sink.
I fill a pot with the leftover turkey bones
with nothing but bits of meat left
clinging to the bone.
I throw in chunks of carrots, onion, celery
and drown them all with water.
It simmers all day
until the vegetables are soft
and the bones fall to bits.
The aroma of rich broth
drifts through the silence
with promises of soup
to warm a cold, winter evening
and surround the table
with conversation and laughter again.

30 Comments on Poetry Friday: Simmering Echoes

  1. Catherine @ Reading to the Core
    January 7, 2017 at 4:18 pm (7 years ago)

    Such a lovely poem. Just reading it warms me up! Soup from leftovers from the week is simmering as I write this, the perfect supper for a cold, winter day. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      January 7, 2017 at 5:53 pm (7 years ago)

      Yum…we are having perfect soup weather. Enjoy warming up with your soup!

      Reply
  2. Diane Mayr
    January 7, 2017 at 2:36 pm (7 years ago)

    You and Tara have a celebration of turkey soup this week! I’ve just finished up the last of mine, and I must say, I am done!

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      January 7, 2017 at 5:53 pm (7 years ago)

      I know! I enjoyed reading Tara’s poem as much as writing mine. I hope you enjoyed your soup, too.

      Reply
  3. Linda Mitchell
    January 7, 2017 at 10:39 am (7 years ago)

    Delightful. There is value in the small….and you made it shine. Thank you for your invitation. I have tucked it into my daily journal. Can’t wait to see where it takes me this week. Happy New Year Keisha! I love being part of your world on Poetry Fridays.

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      January 7, 2017 at 12:23 pm (7 years ago)

      As I listen this year, I am trying to pay attention to those small things in my life.

      Reply
  4. Linda Mitchell
    January 7, 2017 at 10:34 am (7 years ago)

    Simply delicious!

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      January 7, 2017 at 12:22 pm (7 years ago)

      Thank you!

      Reply
  5. Donna Smith
    January 6, 2017 at 8:00 pm (7 years ago)

    Scraps – the best bits for creating something good –
    Quilts, stews, or a new year!
    What a warm and yummy post!

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      January 7, 2017 at 12:22 pm (7 years ago)

      I do love the idea of creating something new out of scraps. I don’t have the patience or skills for quilts, but compost also comes to mind!

      Reply
  6. Violet N.
    January 6, 2017 at 7:51 pm (7 years ago)

    Beautiful poem. I chose to make chicken this year for Christmas dinner and no turkey for soup was one thing I missed. Enjoy your OLW “Listen” this year (as you mentioned in the comment on my post). As someone who is tuned into the same wavelength, I’m looking forward to your insights!

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      January 7, 2017 at 12:21 pm (7 years ago)

      Thank you and same here. I, too, am looking forward to those who have chosen LISTEN for their OLW this year. Listening seems to be something we need more than ever, and it has to start with me.

      Reply
  7. Keri Collins Lewis
    January 6, 2017 at 6:53 pm (7 years ago)

    My love of “turkey carcass soup” as my family calls it is so well known that people *outside* the family save their bones for me! It’s the best! Your poem warmed me up. đŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      January 7, 2017 at 12:20 pm (7 years ago)

      I love it! Now how can I get my friends to save their bones for me?

      Reply
  8. Alice Nine
    January 6, 2017 at 6:52 pm (7 years ago)

    Love your intro– “As the old year turns the page into a new year, I hope I can take the scraps from last year and turn the into something delicious for this year.” –literally and figuratively. Lovely poem, I like your craft move of using the first and last lines to bookend it.

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      January 7, 2017 at 12:20 pm (7 years ago)

      Thank you. I had a hard time figuring out how to structure this poem. I’m glad you like how it ended up.

      Reply
  9. Laura Shovan
    January 6, 2017 at 2:38 pm (7 years ago)

    Kay — YES! Turkey soup is heavenly. We traveled for Thanksgiving this year, so my request for our big holiday dinner: turkey breast. How else would I be able to make turkey stock and then the soup to go with it. Nothing else has that rich aroma.

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      January 6, 2017 at 3:25 pm (7 years ago)

      Yes it is! I hope you enjoyed a turkey for the holidays and soup in the days afterward.

      Reply
  10. Kiesha Shepard
    January 6, 2017 at 2:09 pm (7 years ago)

    Love this, Kay! I love that bit about saving the scraps…you never know when those scraps become a feast. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      January 6, 2017 at 3:23 pm (7 years ago)

      Thanks. I find it a small miracle that scraps can transform into something so delicious.

      Reply
  11. Linda Baie
    January 6, 2017 at 10:51 am (7 years ago)

    Happy New Year, Kay. Your description of making that delicious soup is a grabbing of a special memory, and I love the idea of using scraps from the old year for something good in the new one!

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      January 6, 2017 at 12:59 pm (7 years ago)

      Thank you! I’m looking forward to enjoying some soup tonight, and I’m looking forward to making other good things this year, too.

      Reply
  12. Jane @ Raincity Librarian
    January 6, 2017 at 6:57 am (7 years ago)

    How beautiful! There are wonders to be found even in the unlikeliest of places, and even in the leftover bits and pieces can we find treasures!

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      January 6, 2017 at 12:57 pm (7 years ago)

      Thanks. I’m hoping to find treasures from other bits this year, too.

      Reply
  13. iphigene
    January 6, 2017 at 6:48 am (7 years ago)

    This poem just exudes warmth. I love it, i love the image of little meat clinging to the turkey bone and the pot simmering. Wonderful images that makes me imagine I have winter where I live and i’m eating this warm soup from a large mug.

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      January 6, 2017 at 12:57 pm (7 years ago)

      Thanks. The broth was simmering as I wrote the first draft. We’re getting our first taste of winter snow today as we drive home.

      Reply
  14. Sally Murphy
    January 6, 2017 at 3:54 am (7 years ago)

    Such an evocative poem and I lvoe the echo of the first line in the last.

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      January 6, 2017 at 12:55 pm (7 years ago)

      Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

      Reply
  15. Brenda Harsham
    January 5, 2017 at 11:03 pm (7 years ago)

    I love making soup from the bones, too. The scent… it’s like nothing else. Great poem.

    Reply
    • Mrs. McGriff
      January 6, 2017 at 12:54 pm (7 years ago)

      Thanks. My favorite is to let it simmer all night in a crock pot and quake up to the aroma. Yum!

      Reply

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