Rouxminating

John Rutherford

August 4, 2024

Start with a cup of salted butter,

once it melts, wait a little more

just until it starts to sputter

then add a cup of flour and stir

as if you really mean it, thirty

minutes or more will pass by

until it looks right: brown, dirty;

like Mississippi water, or dark chai.

Keep it up just a moment longer,

you must make sure it doesn’t stick,

even if it doesn’t make you stronger,

the result will be nice: murky and thick.

Soon enough you’ll have the perfect roux,

thick and creamy for your gumbo stew.

John Rutherford is a poet writing in Beaumont, Texas. Since 2018 he has been an employee in the Department of English at Lamar University.