On the Passing of Gourmet, November 2009

It is the last issue of our Gourmet.

Here on the rim of winter, on the cusp

of consumption, how dare we foray

into seasons of culinary lust

sans our guide, sans brioche, sans cassoulet,

merry in the face of our dying delight,

minus the clear broth charm, the recipes,

the bread and wine of our gastric flights?

Tell me, dear, what meaty balm, what mastic

can seal this plunging and hungry absence?

Here is the turkey on page eighty-five,

bronzed, glazed, a poultry hallowed and divine.

Must we greet the year in bitter chagrin,

lovers of pages that won’t roast again?

Melissa Dickson

Sonnets From Cameo published in 2011 by New Plains Press