While Quarantined, I Make a Pot of Beans
KATHERINE HOERTH
March 27, 2020
Today, I hunger for normality,
so I pull my stockpot from the cupboard.
It wears the years upon its surface, scratches
and dents from countless moves, the tumbles
it took, the ashy aftermath of flame.
The pintos chatter as I pour them in.
I inspect them for the errant pebble
amongst the speckles. Then, I fill the pot
with water from the tap and let them soak
in the refrigerator overnight.
This task requires boundless patience,
a commodity in short supply
like toilet paper, bleach, and baby wipes.
When morning comes (just like it always does),
I drain the pot of yesterday and fill
it up again with water, then I wait
for it to start to boil on the stove.
Pinches of oregano and garlic
go into the pot. The scents of earth,
memories and comfort rise with bubbles,
fill the kitchen with a warm embrace.
As I chop cilantro, I taste spring
blooming deep within my roiling belly
as it blooms outside, oblivious
of the virus or our quarantines.
As I slice the onion into slivers,
I think of how we all come from the earth,
and how, no matter what, we will return.
As I dice a jalapeno pepper,
I think of how we all have seeds of power
tucked within the membranes of ourselves.
I dump them in the steaming soup of succor.
They simmer for a couple hours more
before I add a rubescent tomato.
Our mothers and our grandmothers all knew
a pot of beans could fill the emptiness
of countless bowls, of bellies, and of hearts.
So they cooked them in their tidy kitchens
as their worlds, too, were threatening to end.
KATHERINE HOERTH is an assistant professor of English at Lamar University and editor-in-chief of Lamar University Literary Press. In 2015, she won the Helen C. Smith Prize for the best book of poetry in Texas for Goddess Wears Cowboy Boots. Her work has been published in journals such as Valparaiso Review, Summerset Review, and Southwestern American Literature. In 2020, her fourth poetry collection, Borderland Mujeres, will be released by SFAU Press. The book is a bilingual collection of poetry and art created with poet Julieta Corpus and artist Corinne McCormack Whittemore. Katherine is a member of the Texas Institute of Letters and lives in Beaumont.
