Introduction to the family (poem)

meticulously applied redded glosses       demurely demonstrative entrance
dulcet impressions from flour-coated fingers       ingenuous initial greeting
consorts forgotten to cool tombs        fortress of long-nurtured wonders cloaked
by four guarded corners       slender regrets over much-sought delayed appearances
revealed ascents to mountains of previous mantras

emulsified dips into flavored lives       glancing interrogatory gestures
convivial comments on an invitation to a rite of rejuvenation       mildly
contorted memories       bashful confessions       pounded strips of dough
dangled from beams across the family ledger       basement bottles decanting
murmured undertones       eyes turning to downgazing diplomas and silver prints
pop songs of fifty years almost rendered       served-up mythologies drained of taints
reputations lost to mindwrapped kitchen scraps       high church indulgences and candied
nuts under the chandelier

slowly envisioned generations       thankful rests from entanglements
with sharp-taloned devils       droll anecdotes about an eventually interred
poet       pacts concluded with clinks over library Scotch       fresh instruments
tuned to the reverberations from the hearth       hours in oncologist waiting rooms
encyclicals plucked from the fireplace or from drenching shades of sleet       quiet
remnant colors adopted by all parties to the inheritance       ultimately unnegotiated love