Relevance

There are times you wonder if the things 
            you say in the classroom make the kind 

of sense you want to make— if you spoke
            clearly, without stumbling, of ideas 

that filled you with such excitement when you 
           first read or learned them— You know 

how hard it is to let someone in, how hard 
           to come close to another's experience; know 

how most times it's skirt and dodge, no eye contact,  
           fine thank you. What use is language then? 

At home, you stand at the sink and lick the batter 
          off the spatula to taste the sugars before they 

were cooked, to see if you can find a trail of salt,  
           some indissoluble essence at the heart of things.