Hello, poetry friends! I hope you are managing to stay cool during this oppressive heat wave. It’s the first Friday of the month, so it’s time for another Inkling challenge. This month, it was my turn to provide the prompt for our merry band of poets. Several months ago, Heidi shared a month of prompts from poet Audrey Gidman. I remembered these prompts as intriguing and thought-provoking, so I read through her June prompts and chose this for our challenge:

Read “Digging” by Seamus Heaney. Think about something that has been handed down to you—from a parent, a grandparent, an elder in your life—that feels alive in you now. Think of how it is the same and think of how it has transformed in you. Notice how, for Heaney, it’s gardening and writing—two kinds of digging, but still the digging continues through the generations. Write a poem that digs into what was handed down to you and examines what you carry now.

Choosing an object that has been handed down to me was more of a challenge than I thought it would be. I ultimately chose my Nana’s flour sifter. I’m not sure my poem meets the exact criteria of the prompt, but I think it matches the spirit.

Sifting

Between my fingers, cool and smooth,                        
my pen strives to find some truth.

Something as true as you,
unleashing a flurry of flour
as you turn the crank
of your sifter.

The wooden knob, worn smooth
from years of use, is cool beneath
your fingers. 

I see you: 
purifying and lightening  
with this sifter for decades,
the cakes and cookies you baked,
your never-idle fingers performing
miracles in a kitchen the size
of a closet.

I sift through your recipes,
like an archeologist,
searching for those I remember
best:
spice cake
spritz cookies
crust for apple pie.

Nothing I bake tastes
as good as what you
conjured in that kitchen.
Why, I wonder?

I pick up my pen,
sifting through memories,
seeking answers.

Draft, © Catherine Flynn, 2026

Please be sure to visit my fellow Inklings to read their responses to this challenge.

Heidi Mordhorst @ myjuicylittleuniverse
Linda Mitchell @ anotherwordedgewise
Margaret Simon @reflectionsontheteche
Mary Lee Hahn @ anotheryearofreading
Molly @ nixthecomfortzone

Then be sure to stop by Michelle Kogan’s lovely, art & poetry filled blog for the Poetry Friday Round Up.