Two Poems about Salt

The Salt Keeper

I don’t use salt 

but keep three shakers,

and a big round box

with a cheap metal

pullout spout.

I don’t eat rice, anymore,

but I keep enough

to add to the shakers

now and then.

When they get low

I unscrew them

over the sink

so salt trapped

in the lid

doesn’t spill on

the counter and the floor.

Two stay in the kitchen

for cooking

and one on the table,

though sometimes a shaker

disappears into a bedroom

or onto an end table

in the living room.

When I notice,

I retrieve them

keeping them

topped off and ready.

More on Salt

My child keeps sea salt rocks

in a grinder,

though I try to explain,

all salt is sea salt,

but she knows too much to listen.

We have small round paper shakers

bought on the road

at places called Little Giant,

Giant Eagle, Ingles,

rarely at Delchamps or Kroger

or Walmart or Publix.

Pure white crystals,

not the lovely muddy concoctions

like curry or garam masala,

savored the world over

yet not on my palate

for nearly a decade

and rarely missed.