The Masterpiece Baker

This is the latest in a series of historical figures choosing another occupation instead of the one that made them famous.

The Masterpiece Baker

                   after Carl Tomlinson

If Botticelli were a baker, he would

have selected prized hives of honey

and a king's ransom of wheat,

not the commoner's rye and barley,

for his bread loaves, created panettone

studded with jewels of candied light,

concocted cannolis with ends dipped 

in springtime, formed half-shell meringues

wispy as vapor, generated panna cotta

smooth as the satin gowns of noblewomen,

created biscotti tasting as scandalous

as bedding a bargirl, and attracted

the attention of the Medicis, known

for their appetites and for bankrolling

favored sons of Florence. 

Marilyn Aschoff Mellor