Silver Scoops
for Leslie Saiz

lard-white girl
I've fallen in love with
I've fallen into

unable to get out
or to be together
must remain in two

lard all over my face
my heart and hands

never thought I
could like lard so much

tasty, I thought,
only what was fried in it

oh we used to dig the silver scoop
small or big, into a box of it
to serve it

out of scoop, onto wax paper
then into the scale

customer wanting a pound
half pound
or two pounds a lard

how much does she weigh
and she's not in a box

in marriage, she is, possibly
in a cage or happy and free

after a few beers
her eyes light up, sparkle

otherwise, everything about her
is as quiet as a whisper

it is I who am made
to sing about her,
to sing her praises

not knowing quite what this is
that has gone through me
that goes through me

comes out through
a pen in my fist

like whatever river flows
into the Black Sea


© Obediah Michael Smith, 2009
3:07 p.m. 15.04.09