Mother's Oven

Rarely biscuits,
mostly baguettes,
brioche, beignets,
apricot tarts,
even tartlets,
butter walls
holding almond paste,
English cream,
regal crown of pear,
soufflés of strawberry
or Grand Marnier.
Butter cookies,
Swedish squares
Pattern-embossed,
gingerbread boys,
with trousers and shoes,
girls in buttons and bonnets,
or my favorite Florentines,
nubby beige circles
with shiny chocolate backs,
and if I asked enough,
strudel, apple-oozing
juice, nut crunch,
and a fleet cinnamon smell.