The Story Behind the Poem

This poem was to help me get over the embarrassment of ruining a main part of our first meal hosted as a married couple. (Note that I wrote it nearly 4 years after it happened. That’s something pretty rough denial.) My cooking skills have vastly improved since then, but I’m still a little leery with corn on the cob.

Corn Cooking

by Sarah Steele
August 2011

The salty, buttery goodness
With the scrumptious crunch, crunch of the golden kernels
Was sure to make the meal a hit with this new wife’s first guests

But

The salt and butter were just a mask
Covering the overcooked stiffness
Of a potful of wilted corn

Seconds, anyone?

 

Do you have a first-meal story?