I never knew Aunt Matile since she was murdered
by her lover & who also shot her husband dead.
I wandered too. Tried to be loyal & compliant
but when my husband cheated first, I got even
by carrying on with a necklace of men.
 
The wild streak comes from my mother’s side.
It sparkles our blood with rhinestones. 
It tinges our coffee with steamed milk & chicory. 
My great-grandmother taught my grandmother 
how to stir up a gumbo with shrimp & andouille.
 
She started by making a roux with peanut oil & flour.
When the sauce was the color of pecans,
she added it to the stew. When I was in my twenties
I began collecting vintage dresses. My favorite
was decorated with tiny glass beads
 
& then I remembered how Aunt Odette’s closet 
was filled with beaded silk sheaths from the Jazz Age.
My grandmother kept a delicate chemise in her top 
drawer. My husband marvels at my fascination 
with haute couture while my sister loves Paris.
 
I almost hate to tell you how the women
in my family enjoy boozing though I would rarely
use words like lush or sot to describe us. 
It’s just that we have that wild French streak
that runs through our blood like a spiced roux.