By Dan Raphael
Eating only goes so far
at a time
without the seasoning of appetite
no choice, the table’s set
The meals come in weekly cartons
but I shuffle the deck—
a day of three breakfasts
a week without fish
This anonymous cow,
wheat from three neighboring states
something on this plate was barged
something was grown without soil or celestial light
Would this taste different in a glass house, in a cave
if I still had dirt on my hands
from capturing this potato
Predicting what’s in the box of tonight
unfolds into a scenario, someone knocking on the door
bringing their own unspoken menu
When the internet’s down & recipes inaccessible
who needs fire, silverware, or a table
I listen for movement in the box before I open it
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Dan Raphael's poetry collection In the Wordshede was published by Last
Word Press in December of 2022. More recent works appear in Unlikely
Stories, Cafe Review, Alien Buddha, Moss Piglet and Literary Forest.
Most Wednesdays Dan writes and records a current events poem for The
KBOO Evening News.