Love cuisine

You say you’re not hungry,

but she cooks fish sticks anyway,

because fish sticks are an act of love

and the world needs more love

(Whatever the hell that means).

She calls you inside.

You put four on a paper plate,

add horse radish sauce for dipping

and go back outside to eat.

Confident no self-respecting Southern bug

will attempt to eat anything covered in dipping sauce

that’s not Duke’s Mayonnaise or ketchup,

you set the plate down next to your chair

and dine in the fading light.

4-29-24