it was a simple solution

it was a simple solution

designed to keep us sated

while we impatiently waited

for the lunchtime feast

it was a simple concoction

a handheld saucy delight

bursting with flavour

seeping between

two slices of white

not the star of the show

treat for those in the know

homely smell and taste

not a crumb went to waste

*

we would moan about the hunger

you didn't shout or chastise

or fill us with silly lies

about ruining our appetite

instead you took the ladle

and a fresh slice of white

you filled with red sugo

and handed them one by one

to each of us hungry kids

we loved the taste, you know

but even more was the show

of deep love you had for us

it was no mean feat or fuss

*

it was a simple solution

designed to keep us sated

while we impatentily waited

that's no longer an issue

the wait, the longing

for a tasty sugo piece

and that's why, Nonna

I'll never be at peace

not really, and I guess

that's fine, part of life

the tip of the sharp knife

left my heart with a hole

but you reside in my soul

*

it was a simple solution

I tried to recreate

but without your love

and without your magic

the taste was there

but something was missing

*

it was a simple solution

just a simple sandwich

a delicious red sugo piece

an Italian Scottish fusion

a reminder of your impact

on our shared timed with you

and beyond.

*

Thanks for reading!

Author's Notes: There are plenty of snacks and other food I could have (and given that I put forward older pieces) already have included as entries for the Snacktime Sonata challenge, but perhaps the one that is so interlocked with memories is what is known as a "sugo piece".

For those unfamiliar with the vernacular, a piece in Scotland is a simple sandwich, usually white bread with some butter, but can have jam or something else inside it. It was a common snack when I was growing up. Given my Nonna's heritage as an Italian-born immigrant, she took the humble piece and elevated it by infusing it with her sugo, pasta sauce. So when we went to her's for lunch on a Sunday, or other days and occasions, she would give us a sugo piece. It was not just a way of keeping us sated until our pasta followed by salad, chicken, or cured, cold meats, and roast potatoes meal was ready, it became a tradition. For the challenge, as there is a lack of stock photos of sugo pieces on the internet, I made sugo just for the purpose of having images of a sugo piece. It was, sadly, not a patch on her's, but for the few bites it lasted, it transported me back there, to her house.

Here are some messy images of how it was made: