The Matriarch by Sally Quon

February 3, 2022
Poem name: The Matriarch Poet name: Sally Quon Poem begins: She keeps the cheese whiz in a drawer so it’s always soft. Better to spread on fresh baked bread, served warm from the pot-bellied stove. Sometimes there is honey. Water, hand-pumped at the kitchen sink, steams in the kettle, keeping wood fresh and moist. She might be out in the oversized garden (peas on trellis, raspberry brambles, sunflowers brushing the sky) or in the barnyard, scattering seed, gathering eggs— in the field harvesting grain, feeding cattle, mending fences. Evening, back in the kitchen, family gathers at the old oak table, laughing and arguing, the way families who love often do. Glancing at the photo of her own mother, old silver frame atop the highboy, her children, her children’s children, she smiles. End of poem. Credits: Copyright © Sally Quon Sally Quon is a dirt-road diva and teller of tales, living and laughing on the traditional territories of the Syilx people in the Okanagan Valley. She has been shortlisted for Vallum Magazine’s Chapbook Prize two consecutive years and is an associate member of the League of Canadian Poets. Her personal blog, featherstone-creative.com is where she posts her back-country adventures and photos.