The Christmas Kitchen - Melissa Kelley

[Larry Robinson]

The Christmas Kitchen

After we’ve consumed the last crumb of crust,
after we’ve drained the last drop of wine,
we adjourn to the Christmas kitchen.
Twenty of us in a space for ten,
we scrape the scraps and stack the plates.
Sister giggles with her boyfriend over the suds,
while grandma and auntie gossip behind their tea towels.
Dad teeters at the top of the step stool,
tucking the good china in for the year.
The little cousins squeal through the room,
jacked up on pie and ice cream
and the chocolate Santas they stashed behind the sofa.

And the cooking and cleaning
and the washing and wiping
are not chores,
are not chores,
are not chores at all,
but treasured gifts of the season.

	- Melissa Kelley