Taco Tuesday

I drop the package

of crispy yellow taco shells

on the kitchen floor.

Catastrophe!

Stand ‘N Stuff

cracked in half,

no more standing,

no more stuffing,

unless you’re good at building

houses of cards.

I’ve already chopped the onion, though,

and the cilantro,

so I have to carry on.

I find a few shells unscathed

and heat them in the oven

on the blackened cookie sheet.

Ground turkey sizzling in a frying pan,

break it up with an old wooden spoon.

Add four tablespoons of no-salt taco seasonings.

The black refried beans drop can-shaped

into the green saucepan,

the one we’ve had since college.

The frozen corn rotates slowly

inside the humming microwave.

A little squeeze of lime juice,

a sprinkle of cheese,

take my chipped dinner plate to the couch.

Tilt my head sideways to take a bite,

one eye on the television,

one eye on the hungry hounds sitting before me.