Eating the entire Meal

If you were to clench pursed lips- motion toward some labial crease in the sky- you would probably find a migratory mantra

Liken to the spinster whose life is nothing but cramped inside varicose veins with burlesque compunction

Redolent to some genuflecting apostles who are the sum of all our parts- gauge Americana taboos from far left to far right

We decided we would decide to make a decision

That all the free people are indifferent in their different ways

On individual terms, we gathered in a big hurry of people from all over the place

These hurried people- going someplace?

One person’s in another person’s body- still, their voice was the narrative of what third-party norms should sound like

And if life was worth living was a loaded question- the loaded question would be a loaded gun made of galvanized iron- holding the weight of many nuances: imported fruits’ trademark value, hard-boiled eggs sprinkled with salt from a pepper shaker you twist and turn, the demographic of husbands who spare the rib for their wives

An amalgamation of their wives hidden in the coat pocket worn by another person who is so panic-stricken by the thought that they leave this place with as much consciousness as entering it, and in the conscious realization, the person seeks to obtain a sense of self-dignity often far beyond their reach

In essence- the lives of Americans are single-handedly butchered by what they eat;

Though it was ironic, we were the ones

Daunted by inward proclivities- led us to Butchering the fruit of our loins

And our bodies are strung on

The tendrils of what we swallowed whole

With an outward-gazed lump in our throats – eating the entire meal

Jack Cuffaro is a Junior at Dover Area High School. He has been awarded a silver key in Scholastic Art & Writing for one of his poems, has multiple poems published in TeenInk Magazine, a poem published in Shippensburg College Literary Journal, and a poem published by The America Library of Poetry in their 2023 student poetry compilation. He is the managing editor of his school newspaper, Dover Dispatch, and the Editor-in-Chief of his school literary magazine, A Talon’s Touch.