'Waking up grateful'

 

 “I wake up grateful, for life is a gift.” – Elizabeth Alexander

 

Born on May 30, 1962 in New York City, Alexander is a poet, writer and literary scholar, who has served as the president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation since 2018.   Previously, Alexander was a professor for 15 years at Yale, where she taught poetry and chaired the African American Studies Department. 

 

Her first volume of poetry, Body of Life, came out in 1996 and since then she has authored 9 poetry collections, a number of essays, and 2 memoirs.  She also was a founding faculty member of the Cave Canem workshop which helps develop African-American poets.  For Saturday’s Poem, here is Alexander’s,

Butter

My mother loves butter more than I do,
more than anyone. She pulls chunks off
the stick and eats it plain, explaining
cream spun around into butter! Growing up
we ate turkey cutlets sauteed in lemon
and butter, butter and cheese on green noodles,
butter melting in small pools in the hearts
of Yorkshire puddings, butter better
than gravy staining white rice yellow,
butter glazing corn in slipping squares,
butter the lava in white volcanoes
of hominy grits, butter softening
in a white bowl to be creamed with white
sugar, butter disappearing into
whipped sweet potatoes, with pineapple,
butter melted and curdy to pour
over pancakes, butter licked off the plate
with warm Alaga syrup. When I picture
the good old days I am grinning greasy
with my brother, having watched the tiger
chase his tail and turn to butter. We are
Mumbo and Jumbo's children despite
historical revision, despite
our parent's efforts, glowing from the inside
out, one hundred megawatts of butter.