4.9.13

Today's color prompt: ruby.  My wedding cake was red velvet (in case you're wondering about the connection).

Saving the Cake

“ If well wrapped in plastic, your cake can survive that first year of marriage -- a delicious reminder of your special day. Remember to remove all flowers, stems, leaves and other garnish, and make room in the freezer. When your first anniversary rolls around, taste your wedding day all over again. “  

--from www.weddings.weddingchannel.com

Now really, whose half-baked idea was this?  

Oh, we dutifully plastic-baggied it, double-baggied it,

sealed it tight with Ziploc faith, fitted

the airtight rubber cake keeper lips around it.

For twelve months, it rested in deep freeze cryo,

sugar molecules flattening, buttermilk in suspended animation,

cream cheese frosting shells and swirls holding their shape.

When we took it out, it looked perfect.

Then, the thaw, like spring’s reprieve.  And like in spring,

melting ice and solid earth made mud.  It was flat,

grainy, sand-pie on our forks, frosting like cement.

We blessed it and tipped it into the trash,

then baked cupcakes and drank wine.

If there are secrets to a good marriage, maybe

this is one of them: to know
when something needs to be cast away, to know

when it’s better to start something new.