after Alan Dugan
Let’s say for example, if, as you hover
at the edge of the raucous kitchen,
nibbling the last slice of, say, apricot tart
others paid for, openly advertising
you’ve no dinner for yourself, someone offers,
for sake of argument, half a beautiful omelet
clearly intended entirely for himself,
as perhaps he has fasted all day,
you should understand this generosity
as social invitation, and whether or not
you twice demur—both plate and table—
it remains inappropriate that the dish
later disappear from the counter
as if by a thief ’s hand, as breaking of bread
is how community is nourished, relationships
are healed, culture and custom paid forward,
and if you do choose to snag the food
when no one’s looking and make a run
for your closet of a studio, this omelet
made with love from fresh eggs, mushrooms,
peas purchased at the farmers market,
say peas shelled just that afternoon
and a walk to town for a warm baguette
all at the expense of the cook’s time,
and say moreover, to our point, it is a sublime
omelet, lightly browned on the outside,
unbelievably butter-rich and luxurious inside,
possibly the best goddamn omelet
ever made in human history and the maker
ends his meal hungry as reward for kindness,
consider that you might at a point in time
at least mention having eaten, maybe even
enjoyed the fucking eggs you didn’t deserve,
simply acknowledge the gesture.
Just a thought I wanted to share.
ABOUT THE POET
Gaylord Brewer has been a professor at Middle Tennessee State University
for three decades. The most recent of his 17 books of poetry, fiction, criticism,
and cookery is a just-published collection of brief nonfiction, Before the
Storm Takes It Away (Red Hen Press, 2024).
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