the movement to fill the belly is a vow
at least for now
to continue on in the journey of the body
to fulfill the need
that being human
makes me have.
we play the game
we all must do the dance of chewing
and swallowing
and pleasuring in taste
but at times
it is just a chore
like bathing and peeing
like flossing and dentist tripping
part of the musts for taking care of this bod
this minivan – no truck
I’ll look under the hood, and change the oil
get enough fuel to do the things I want to do.
I cannot hike or paddle or swim without reserves –
eat to live
live to eat
I remember those days
when going without I thought would make me faint
and now sometimes I forget,
I forget and get the signal from the gauge
hey girl, you’re riding on empty
and you got miles to go
you know…
and then at times
a taste,
a whiff even, is enough
to begin a longing
to flood the tongue with taste
and the brain – endorphins
what is this drug?
the charring, the sweet and salty?
the perfect meal
a bit like heroin, never quite measuring to that first high
but definitely worth the try –
so many roads to go down
some necessary, most by choice
I enjoy the pleasure and the denial
I am a ambidextrous consumer
I can dive into pleasure
without needing it to show up daily
and I can dive into denial
without a nagging voice of need
yet still,
a cup of tea is champagne
a basil leaf, a boat to shangrila –
may we ever hunger for that which truly fills.
Life as Improv 