Advent Biscuits

Dr. Julie Thorpe

10 December 2016

Advent Biscuits

 

My host mother handed on a recipe
so I would learn kitchen-words
by heart.

Verkneten. Knead. Press down. Push out.
Ausschaben. Skin, scrape empty, then
wrap gently in a sheet to rest.
                                                       Line,
turn, toss, writhe in the marrowy
dust.

              Last of all,
aufbewahren. Set aside. Store
in a safe place.

Or was it the white-covered crescents
waxing and waning, like half-moon
slices of rye spread with liverwurst each morning
before we left for school in the dark
and later ate in the courtyard, walking
in circles to stay warm?

Maybe the gift
that winter wasn’t the words
but the circles I’m still learning
to walk and keep in my heart.

©Julie Thorpe

Image Advent Biscuits made by Julie

Dr. Julie Thorpe was a Vaughan Park Scholar in Residence in 2014. Her first book, Aquinas Academy 1945-2015: A Very Personal Australian Story was published by ATF Theology in 2016.