Lonely Food (Poem)

Lonely Food

I stared at the beans in my fridge

And they stared back

Angrily

Accusingly

With prejudice

Daring me

They glanced at the relatively fresh

Salsa in the corner

Potential accomplice

Which gave a sly grin back

And…

Was that a wink?

The salsa has no reason to be

That angry with me

Unless it was coerced-

Bullied, maybe.

These beans…

They’re troublemakers.

Who would have thought-

Fried once

And then again,

One might think

The fight would be gone,

That rottenness would never ensue

But no…

I flushed them.

Now for that salsa…

--Eric Marley

October 2011