The Receipt
for Beth

Winter wore me out, bowed me down.
My roots strong, still I chilled with fear
that winter would linger into forever,
some Witch of Narnia in charge.

I succumbed, shook with fever,
body racked with cough,
in the month of my birth.
Kindness brought a cure.

Like frugal colonial housewives,
my friend and I exchange lists
of the delicious, the delectation
of effective combinations.

I see this one here, in her hand:
“Moxie’s Cold Cure.”
Golds of fresh lemon and
honey, heat of fresh ginger

and cayenne, boiled with water
then capped with a darker
liquid deemed “Super
Echinacea.” This prairie brew

blew through my petty maladies
with root, leaf, flower, and seed;
restored the hope we all need
of gentler weather and warmer breeze;

helped me accept and believe
that I am worthy to ask. And receive.

Leslie Schultz

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