Table Variations

kitchen table

Imagine this. Mother sits near the rusty stove,
chops onions for the puchero pot. Radio’s on.
A soft bolero by Lucho Gatica, “Somos”: we are.
She sings along to her favorite tune. He wants
to talk. Dog sleeps under the table. He doesn’t
know how. He met an older boy. They kissed.
It just happened. In an instant. His new dirty
shoes, her stained apron over her knotted hands.
Kitchen’s bright yellow light undoes him.
Mother senses his stare. Dinner isn’t ready yet.
He wants to say things. That same night
a storm breaks out, water overflows the gutters,
takes everything away—leaves, twigs, a straight 
soft string. She doesn’t have much time.



oval table
 

high altar

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.
—Genesis 8:20
 

A piece of furniture with a flat top and one or more legs, providing a level surface for eating, writing