Cumin Cake – a Sonnet, by Megan Cartwright
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash
Unholy union of convection and
convenience: Microwave Cookery.
A love letter to the 1980s.
‘Sour Cream Cherry Cake’, page 43,
Women’s Weekly kitchen triple tested.
Filling gelatinous as Aunt Kat’s thighs,
flecked with tinned cherries like scratched mozzie bites.
Canned fruit and packet cake shrewdly disguised.
The time my mother confused cumin with
cinnamon is preserved in family lore.
A running joke for years, the recipe
recalled, though the dessert is made no more.
Mum hates the story more than the mistake.
Ridicule is rarely just about cake.
Megan Cartwright (she/her) is a college Literature teacher who lives in Canberra, Australia. Her poetry has appeared in print and online in journals and magazines including Contemporary Verse 2 (Canada), SINK (UK) and Swim Meet Lit Mag (Aust).