“Intergenerational Recipe” by Lindsay Mayhew

Intergenerational Recipe

My grandmother’s hands are open wounds,
inviting you to come consume. She caters
even when she cannot nourish herself.

When the world encumbers, she
kisses the back of your irises
to sleep. The scent
of rhubarb, blueberry, and baby
powder lingers.

Family is Pulla bread, a braiding of blood,
made
through the folding of flour and milk, kneaded
with palms wrinkled in time
and trauma.

Grandmother passes down this intergenerational recipe
in tongues.
I digest an unfamiliar language, vices
tumbling from her teeth, palms ripping
open. 

She whispers, there is so much
meaning in a meal.
There is something heavenly about sharing
communion, especially when drenched in butter and
cinnamon. She nurses
my hands back whole. I wear the scars
as a reminder: I have not been swallowed
by the night.

Lindsay Mayhew

Lindsay Mayhew (she / her) is a spoken-word artist and author from Sudbury, Ontario. She is the co-editor with Connor Lafortune of A Thousand Tiny Awakenings (April 2025). Lindsay is the multi-year champion of Wordstock’s Poetry Slam and has featured in YWCA, JAYU Canada, Nuit Blanche, and many other events. She represented Canada in the 2024 Womxn of the World Poetry Slam. Lindsay is a recent Master’s graduate of English Literature, and her written work is featured in multiple editions of Sulphur. Lindsay’s work explores mental health, healing, and feminism.

Headshot: Joro Photography

Photo Credit: Staff