Barbecue

In all our unhappiness

And private malady

I can think of nothing better

Than to build a western barbecue

Out of bricks and cement

I have the students

Steal the bricks

And we build it one rainy afternoon

And I have a local welder

Make an iron grill

We heat up the charcoals

And on it we put our pork, ribs and chicken pieces

And the students and people

Who have never before seen a barbecue

Come from all over to stop and stare in wonder

And to inquire if the pieces of meat are not too big

And won't they get burned?

And will they be done enough inside?

And for the first four or five months

All I can think to do

Is to barbecue

Bringing a small piece of the new West

To the ancient East