Que será será

NaPoWriMo 2025, Day 15

As I stand over the mixing bowl, recipe in hand,
I think of my mother in the tile-floor kitchen.
[Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.]
It is almost difficult to imagine her anywhere else,
For any period of time, unless she was cleaning.
[Grease your loaf pan.]
After her second child, her doctor told her that
To have any more would be a serious risk to her health.
[In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mash 3 – 4 bananas.]
She had six more, and I am the fifth of eight.
And it did take a serious toll on her health—physical and mental.
[Add applesauce and vanilla extract, and mix again.]
In our working poor household, with a patriarchal husband
She was always cleaning, cooking, canning, gardening, baking, mending, ironing…
[Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt]
In that small, army housing home
The washer and dryer were at one end of the kitchen
[Mix well, but don’t overmix, just until the flour is combined.]
Which means she could keep the laundry running, always running,
While raising eight children and our friends.
[Batter will be slightly thick and a few lumps are okay.]
Every Saturday was baking day, and the neighborhood knew it:
Kids would arrive for a slice of fresh-baked bread with butter and honey.
[If mixture seems too thick, add oat milk.]
I remember my mom talking about how much she longed to go out dancing,
And as far as I know, in all those years, she never did.
[Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake for about 50 minutes.]
Instead, she danced across that unforgiving tile atop a concrete foundation,
Singing softly, “Que será, será… Whatever will be, will be…”
[Remove from oven and let cool for ten minutes before slicing.]
I wish I could offer her a slice of this banana bread. I think she would be proud.
And then I would insist we go out dancing.