With a bib and a spoon
then with a knife and a fork
(we slurp soup as if it doesn’t taste good)
no smacking – keep your mouth closed
(if you speak while you eat
you’ll marry a…)
straight as warriors
with our newspapers under our arms
we break a place to bite as men
you can eat fish with your fingers
because it has a lot of bones
but use pliers for the lobster
(eating with Chinese sticks
is like writing haiku)
we learn how to eat all of our lives
and finally we still end
just as we started
with a bib and a spoon
almost flat on our backs
fed by someone else