Eating My Words

(I wrote this in 2002. It appeared in a now-defunct online lit mag in 2003. I remembered it this past week when someone told me that she'd love to spend more time writing but...)

It's nice to have dreams and all that, but you gotta make a living, she told me.
You can't eat poetry.


 I said to her Oh, but you can. 
Follow me to the table.
Here we are. There's plenty to choose from.


How about starting out with a glass of delicate white Quatrain?
Or would you enjoy a tankard of Ode instead? 
If you're feeling up to it, we have Pentameter pints as well.


Munch on a handful of crunchy Couplets while we decide what's next. 
You can also have a Pastorale salad or Ghazal on pita bread.

Now for the main course.
If you're really hungry, you might want to try a big juicy Epic doused in sauteed onions and mushrooms, served with a baked potato.
Or for a summery flavor, you might like grilled Idyll with a side of garden vegetables.
Delicate appetites prefer steamed Haiku over rice served with plum sauce.
If you like French cuisine, you'll love the Rondeau du jour.


 For dessert, sample some Villanelle with your coffee
or nibble on freshly baked Limericks.
A liqueur of Sonnet, with hints of rose petals, will round things out nicely.
Whatever you choose, I promise that you won't go away hungry.


I see, she said, surveying the spread before her, that I shall have to eat my words.