It was the chicken piccata—
zested to confession,
plated like a bribe—
they'd barely had a taste.
Your favorite patron
pulled a face,
asked who cooked it,
then quietly slid the plate
into the trash.
God, you’d have howled,
ugly-laughed into your wine,
called it an injustice of capers,
made a chart demonstrating
the salt-to-spite ratio.
I reached for my phone—
reflex,
tongue licking spit from a lip.
Then I laughed
hard
at the way the joke curled back,
both of us plated wrong.
Me, for serving in your absence.
You, for going off-menu.
Categories:
zested, extended metaphor, food,
Form: Free verse
vernal equinox
lemon-zested oracle ~
emboldened healer
Categories:
zested, environment, nature, seasons, spring,
Form: Haiku
Alice and Alex always ate apples.
Bobby brought baked beans
Carol cooked cleaned catfish
David decorated delicious donuts
Ellen endured eating eleven eggs
Freddie fried five fish
Gina grabbed green grapes.
Holly had Heavenly Hash
Ivan indulged in Ice cream
John just jostled jello
Kim kept kool aid
Lisa loves long licorice
Mike made mini meatloaf
Nan needed new napkins
Oliver offered olives
Peter preferred pumpkin pies
Queenie quietly quit
Rosaline roasted ribs
Sharon sampled strawberry sauce
Tom tossed the tomatoes
Ulysses used utensils
Valerie vegetables varied
Willy wasted watermelon
Xavier x-irradiated xacuti
Yolanda yielded yellow yogurt
Zack zested zucchini
Categories:
zested, food, humor, people,
Form: Alliteration
Widowed Dad zested for life,
Every day new adventures:
Hiking in the Sierras,
Naked white-water rafting,
Hours of gambling in Tahoe,
Dates with beautiful women...
Then married his best friend, Mike.
Categories:
zested, life, self, truth,
Form: Verse