Omelet Nation

And a country slaps over on itself
as the fatted pan heats,
half bubbling
half spitting
its middle oozing,
the diced and julienned
facing off, transition
quick as a
fork stir,
states of matter in
spatula, liquid maybe to solid no
as we flip and season,
bits hissing
where they fry, defy
laws, molecules slowing despite
the flames, weeping
edges harden,
stop short
between fluff and burn, the test,
they say, of any true
chef, of
greatness.

 

Published in Scoundrel Time, October 2024