by Melissa Whiteford St. Clair

She said, “Grits, I hate ‘em.”

The woman who’s battered copies of Bon Appetit magazine were just that, battered.
The dog-eared pages of juice cum wine-stained publications stacked on bookshelves
with the most favored recipes floating to the top of the pile.
Classic and contemporary dishes curated for cocktail parties and folded into family
dinners alike.
Presented to the table with pomp and circumstance ceremony.
Cue Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture in the background on the HiFi
The meager-budgeted, eager-to-please daughter-in-law offered up to this
Julia Child incarnate who ran her kitchen helping hands like U.S. military KP duty.
Hands that wanted to chop and dice and mince and squeeze fresh lemons for the finish
~ grits, as in shrimp-n-grits,
a Southern American staple this military spouse learned to finesse
doing time at duty stations in the Carolinas.
An entrée she supped on nightly her first trip to the west coast to San Diego.
With one wave of her well-manicured hands sheltered inside Playtex rubber gloves
which went straight to each jump rope toned hip, striking an indignant pose,
one expertly tweezed eyebrow raised, and plainly stated, “Grits, I hate ‘em,” then
properly went back to separating chicken wings into drums and flaps.
Her doe-eyed son’s wife crushed like the clove of garlic pulverized under the weight of
the chef’s knife for the teriyaki sauce.

Nor could she stomach the texture of its semolina cousin, couscous.

Founder of White Girl Advocacy, Melissa Whiteford St. Clair is a poet and social justice advocate. She shares her message of unity and creativity through interactive advocacy workshops, antiracism efforts, poetry readings, and talks. Melissa has published two books of poetry and a self-guided workbook. She is a contributing poet to the “South Carolina Bards Poetry Anthology” 2023, 2024, 2025. Her poem “Harriet’s Feat to Freedom” was selected for the Hilton Head Island Poetry Trail at Mitchelville. She was honored to be part of the Piccolo Spoleto Sundown Poetry Series in 2025.