Cast Iron

It holds its history in its belly.  

Blackened surface, worn like a story,  

each scrape, a whisper of past meals.  

It is both shield and hearth, enduring.  

The cast iron does not flinch, only works,  

takes what is given—heat, flame, purpose—  

and turns it into sustenance or scars.  

It carries weight the way shoulders do.  

Seasoned, they call it, but also scarred.  

Layered over time, taught to endure,  

taught to cradle what might burn it.  

What sticks becomes part of its heart.  

Wield it carefully, or don’t. It forgives.  

But it remembers, the way hands do,  

always slightly warm from past labors,  

knowing how to sear without wounding.  

It doesn’t break. It bends to pressure,  

to heat, to cleaning, but never shatters.  

It teaches me how to hold my center,  

solid as a pan, steady as love.