Mămăliga – Evie Groch
Mama fed me porridge
made of yellow maize flour, mamaliga,
peasant food from eastern Europe
to stave off hunger.
In the states, she never made it.
It gave away our status.
Fine dining became our pastime,
we ate out quite often,
a dish called polenta in high demand.
I savored it, found out why.
My mamaliga was back in vogue,
with a gourmet’s touch.
Refusing to eat it herself, my mother
smiled every time she heard me order it.
Evie Groch, Ed.D. is a Field Supervisor/Mentor for new administrators in Graduate Schools of Education. Her opinion pieces, humor, poems, short stories, recipes, word challenges, and other articles have been widely published in the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Contra Costa Times, The Journal, and Games Magazine. Many of her poems are in published anthologies. Her short stories, poems, and memoir pieces have won her recognition and awards. Her travelogues have been published online with Grand Circle Travel. The themes of travel, language, and immigration are special for her.