Lunch Rush - Nov 18 2022

 

Lunch Rush

Nov 18 2022

The guy eating pizza

with a knife and fork

draws sideways glances

and puzzled looks.

Someone pointed,

a few snickers were heard.

A slice,

like sandwiches and fruit

and the usual finger foods.

No mismatched spoons.

No cold hard steel

or sharpened prongs,

no implements

and less to wash.

For me, it has to be french fries

fork-free,

because there is something deeply tactile

about hand-to-mouth;

the feel

the heat

the savouring,

nothing coming in-between.

And then, a delectable ending

of finger-licking pleasure

to complete the meal.

But pizza?!!

A man of the people never would.

He must have been raised by respectable parents

who desperately wanted

to be polite and proper

and accepted by their higher-ups;

a cup of tea

in bone china

pinkie extended,

the correct utensil

for every course.

Immaculate hands

knife and fork.

Eventually, people stopped paying attention.

And he remained oblivious

to the shaken heads

and quizzical stares.

I felt badly

for having looked;

after all

it was none of my business

and each to his own.

In fact, I actually admire

his self-possession.

Parents

who had tried so hard to fit in,

and a grown son

who does what he does

regardless.