betty's brownies

I find my mother's old cookbook
in a stack
of other things
to be thrown away.
the woven cover is stained
with years
of cooking.
baking.
making due with what she
had to work
with.
it was all about the substitutes
back then.
I see her handwritten notes,
next to all the things
she made for us
when growing up.
add this, take away that.
the crumpled notes for
betty's brownies,
joe's barbeque sauce.
gloria's lasagna.
I can almost see her hands
on the pages,
the book open on the counter
by the stove
as she wiped her glasses
clean
then began.