From Sweet Dessert to Desert

Matzo Toffee – photo courtesy of the author.

Plant
Plant-based
Plant-based butter
Bought

Dark
Dark chocolate
Dark chocolate chips
Found

Flour
Flour and water
Unleavened flour and water
Boxed

Pan
Pan and parchment paper
Pan, parchment paper and oven mitts
Ready

Bubbling
Bubbling toffee
Bubbling toffee flowing
Poured

Flowing
Flowing voices
Flowing voices of joy
Heard

Streaming
Streaming lines
Streaming lines of people
Seen

Seeing
Seeing straight
Seeing straight ahead and back again
To watch
To watch out
To watch out for an attack

To survive
To survive plagues
To survive the attack of ten plagues

Looking
Looking for a sign
Looking for a sign of survival
To watch
To watch out
To watch out for water

Water
What is water?
Water is life
Life

Life
Life flows
Life flows in water
Flowing in water is a plant-based basket

Basket
A basket
A basket made of plants
A basket made of plants and tears

Tears
Tears and sand
Tears, sand and sweat
Sweat
Sweat and salt
Sweat, salt water, and bittersweet tears
Sweat, salt water, and bittersweet tears of birth

Birth
Birth of secrets
Birth of secrets and servitude
Birth of secrets, servitude and freedom
Freedom
Freedom to pause

Pause

Pause to retell
Pause to remember

Pause to count
Pause to be counted
Pause to ask
Pause to answer

Answer
Answer a call
Answer the call
The call
The call for freedom
Freedom

Free
Free to drink
Free to drink water
Free to drink water from the well

Well
Well enough
Well enough to sing

Sing
Sing of freedom
Sing of freedom and dance
Sing of freedom and dance with timbrels
Freedom to sing and dance with timbrels across the desert

Desert
Desert of life
Desert of life and death
Desert of life, death and remembrance

Remember
Remember the ingredients
Remember the ingredients of your beliefs

Believe
Believe you can
Believe you can survive
Believe you can survive and thrive

Thrive
Thrive forwards
Thrive forwards with one step
Thrive forwards with one tiny might step
Steps count

Recount
Count
Out

You
You count,
Not
To
Forget

The 30days30works prompt was to do something backwards. My backwards was starting with baking desserts for Passover before cooking the first course of a meal during which we gathered to tell the story of an exodus. I baked Matzo Toffee. The ingredients were plant-based butter, dark brown sugar, matzah, dark chocolate chips, sweet raisins, and salty nut pieces.