The Sticky LIttle Muffin

The sticky little muffin
Is good, my mother said
So eat it up now quickly
Or else you'll go to bed.

It's brown and lightly crunchy
And healthy for us, too
With just a little butter
It won't taste much like glue.

It's filled with bran and oatmeal
And topped with honey nuts
And just two hours later
It all comes out our butts.

© Poem Fix http://www.poemfix.com 2012
Photo: www.therecipenut.com

Hummus Emergency

Two fresh rounds of pita on a plate
Joined by a small scoop of tanned hummus.
Not enough.
Another portion of mashed chickpeas seems right,
Balanced.
But when one pita has been consumed
The hummus is diminished much more than half,
Not sufficient to last
Without change.
Stingy hummus,
Less per bite,
Until the last pita sliver
Pushes into what remains,
Absorbing the final smear of hummus,
Like mopping up blood from a highway.

© Poem Fix http://www.poemfix.com 2012
Photo by Poem Fix

Smoked Trout

The clerk says
Smoked trout
Is the best thing in the store,
So I buy eight cans and
Bring them home.
I'm scolded for my extravagance:
Whoever heard of smoked trout?
I say, The guy at the store seemed very high on them.
She says, I sent you there to get vodka.
I'm not sure how to reply other than a lie:
They were out.
She says, You can't drink smoked trout.
I want to yell, but I keep my anger in check by saying,
It's supposed to be amazing.
She looks at me like I'm the biggest
Mistake in her life.
I asked you for
One thing.
When she leaves, I turn on the television
And open a can,
Draining the oil from the shallow rectangle.
I sit in the dark with a small fork and
Eat the fish.
It does taste good,
Incredible.
I change the channels and imagine being alone forever,
Not answering to anyone,
Doing nothing for the rest of my life
Than eat smoked trout in frightful solitude.

© Poem Fix http://www.poemfix.com 2012

Photo by Trader Joe's

Appetite

A lost appetite doesn't
Leave the body
It hides behind the spleen
Dreaming about peritonitis
And other abdominal distresses
It wants to be discovered
Returned to favor
Fed chocolate and cheese
But it will not make itself known
But for a warning pang
Don't forget me!
Until then, the absent appetite will revel in
The hurt
The stress
The illness
The pregnancy
And join its host in the horrible ecstasy of depression

© Poem Fix http://www.poemfix.com 2012
Photo by Mikael Häggström

Carnegie Deli

Two half-balding men in loose suits
Eating breakfast with a two-star uniform
Days away from retirement and a bad back
Coffee, half glass of milk, orange juice
Muttering about an Italian man
And a hard working American
An executive from Mexico involved in a ransom scheme
The ties are detectives
Laughing about their wives and the terrible way someone was killed
The air conditioner blows loudly but you don't hear it
Dead-end waiters bicker about what table a customer gets
You be the seater 'cause I'm not seating anyone else

I poke at my cheddar cheese egg white omelet

But tourists at the next table brag about seeing Al Roker
Sharing their digital photos
Gawking at the stars on the wall
My server, Poo, is polite
Offering more coffee, my bill, instructions
Pay cashier but leave tip on table
Got it
The coffee is good
So at least that's something

© Poem Fix http;//www.poemfix.com 2012