WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE

Regrets and resentments,
like salt and pepper,
sit there on life’s table.
But don’t forget what’s on the plates:
the meat and potatoes,
as well as the wine, the bread,
the dessert of life.
Make sure you see the need
to pick up the sharp knife
of thought – to cut the fat,
to take a fork – to probe a baked potato,
to let the smoke out,
to discover the inside of everything.
Bite into, chew, slowly digest life.
Of course, it takes time
for things to finally make sense –
what to do, what to chew,
and oh yeah, what to sneak back
onto the corner of your plate. Life
has gristle. Then hide it with a napkin.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2008