learning to cook

When I was a young man,
I cooked everything on Hi,
the knob turned all the way to the right
and the coils a furious red.

I left a scorched trail to the trashcan;
the denizens of the cabinet and refrigerator alike
quaked at my approach.

There was no time for caramelizing,
no time for saute.

As time runs down, I have discovered
by turning the dial to Low
I can slow the passing of the hours
maybe make what is left stretch
into years.