Legacy

My dear lovely life,

You left me two things

Among many others;

A pepper grinder,

The kind brandished excitedly

By Italian waiters,

And some very special peppercorns.

——

The mill

Is a standard device

Set within

A big long

Turned wooden

Cylinder.

It requires the regular kind of peppercorn.

——-

The peppercorns

That you gifted me

Are a very special variety.

I’ve long since disposed

Of the packing.

They are an utter mystery

Twice

The size

Of your regular peppercorn,

But each

With a little tail –

Like a dried up tadpole.

———

For over two years

I’ve been shaking

And whacking the mill

And banging it on the counter

As I’ve tried to deliver a little zing

To my repast.

——-

But now,

I’ve had enough!

I’ve shaken the wizened frogspawn

Out of the top

And collected them in a mortar.

I’ve purchased my own replacement

Of regular corns.

——

I imagine

You knew this problem,

And

Its solution.

But it

Was never an urgency, just as

It isn’t now,

But two and a half years

After your departure

I

Have finally

Caught up with you,

In this one regard.