Grandma (Clara) Hahn’s Bread
4 cakes compressed yeast
Almost a century separates us
and yet time compresses –
you are here with me
in my kitchen.
1 cup lukewarm water
I cup my hands around the story
that you once held infant me.
6 tablespoons sugar
It would have sweetened our lives
had the car wreck not happened –
my father anchored by family
my mother loved as a daughter
we children connected to ancestors
1 qt. skimmed milk
but all those possibilities were skimmed away
like the thick, rich cream
that rises to the top of the morning milking
brought straight to the kitchen from the barn.
4 tablespoons shortening
I made your bread once for Dad,
attempting to shorten the distance
that had formed between us.
It was good, he said, but
about 14 ¼ cups Mother’s Best
not the same as yours.
7 ½ teaspoons salt
It’s not the same as yours,
but this three-rise half-day project
is as close as I’ll ever get
to the flavor of your love,
Grandma Hahn.
© Mary Lee Hahn, 2025
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