In a moment of defeat and despair,
we begged, “What will you eat?!”
"Noodles!" She declared.
"Noodles," we agreed, "noodles are fine."

And so noodles upon noodles upon
noodles we’ve tried: noodles boiled,
steamed and fried; strings, tubes and
swirls; noodles shaped like bunnies,
unicorns and dinosaurs; in sauces
and soups, in cheesious goops;

noodles with veggies (until veggies
were banned); noodles with
mushrooms (only from a can);
noodles made of wheat, lentils, rice or
corn - noodles made of everything
noodles could suborn.

Noodles for lunch and for dinner -
noodles again and again and again
- and what then? How many times
can one noodle? How many noodles
until brains begin to spill onto plates
in a braineous-noodle-ous state?

Noodles for breakfast - can’t do it.
Noodles for lunch - can’t get thru it.
Noodles are banned! Noodles are
not welcome near here - never again!
At least not today anyway.

Ok, fine...


NCL August 2019

Unzipping the small pocket
(the one like a clothing pocket)
Of the empty luggage
Sliding a tentative hand within
Hoping not to find anything
From the last trip
Or even before then
Especially nothing that decomposed
Or worse yet, something alive
An unfortunate rodent
Or unidentified colony of creepy crawlers
Alive or dead, it's something I dread
Maybe I should buy another...


NCL July 2019

Almond Butter, you would have tricked me. It is not you I seek but the contraband comforts of another, my love Peanut Butter. Our sordid affair, a shameful deceit - I hide it away but the lure is too complete to ignore. I can’t desist, I won’t make empty promises; I will accept the warm embrace of no other.

NCL 2019