Food for Thought
by Bill Corden (April 2019)
Dinner Time, Bert Heersema
Pop it in your mouth,
the Cockney’s norf an souf.
Incisors slice inside it,
canines rip and tear,
molars masticate it.
The journey starts right there
The ptyalin you produce
turn the starches into mousse—
as the stuff from out your pantry
goes down your alimentary.
Once most of what you got is
past your epiglottis,
it’s forced by peristalsis
into the waiting maw.
The the breakdown is quite rapid
when hydrochloric acid
from the lining starts to pour.
—
Endo-crinology,
The brain needs this,
the heart needs that.
What’s not used is saved as fat.
The muscles need some glucose;
without it life is otiose.
Molecular reconstruction
turns produce into meat.
Preprogrammed instruction
maintains a constant heat.
When the gut at last disposes,
the vegetation decomposes;
providing strength and sustenance
to tuber, grain and pod.
A circulating providence—
Do you believe in God?
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Bill Corden is a happily retired sports columnist living in Vancouver, British Columbia. Now he writes, plays music and makes people laugh.
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