Portrait of the South: Cornbread | Teen Ink

Portrait of the South: Cornbread

April 9, 2013
By Elise Miller SILVER, Terrell Hills, Texas
Elise Miller SILVER, Terrell Hills, Texas
5 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Fuzzy loyal guardian beneath your feet

Smooth fresh butter at your plate

Cool silver cup on your lips

And cornbread in your hand


Sweet marmalade in a big glass jar

Tall fluffy biscuits in a cloth-lined basket

Round shiny spoon in a bowl full of soup

And cornbread


Fried green tomatoes golden brown

Mashed sweet potatoes in a ochreous mound

A mug full of buttermilk flavorful and thick

And cornbread


Red cabbage slaw or green boiled peanuts

Watermelon pickles and sticky sweet sorghum

Rich and spicy apple butter smeared over toast

And cornbread


Deviled eggs fresh from this morning

Butter beans green beans black-eyed peas

Pass the oven-baked chicken please

And cornbread


Can you hear Pa crack ripe pecans for the pie

Pralines and pound cake and crunchy peanut brittle

Cobbler with the juicy peaches from Granny’s backyard

And cornbread



And cornbread



Mama’s cornbread



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This article has 1 comment.


Mckay ELITE said...
on Apr. 12 2013 at 1:50 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."
—Apple’s “Think Different” commercial, 1997
“Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn't understood.”
― Weihui Zhou

As you can imagine this appealed mostly to my sense of taste. But just as well to my sense of sight and smell. This is an enjoyable poem to read. It gives a comforting feeling. Except now I'm hungry.