by Brett Rutherford
Duck feet, sea slugs,
lotus root dry
from winter mud,
eggs lost and found
inside a clay pot
a "hundred years,"
baby eels, slimy
(aphrodisiac?),
tree-bark fungus
afloat in soup,
shark fin, dried
octopus snack,
Old Pock-Marked
Mrs. Chen's
tofu (the scholar's
rocket fuel),
mysterious red
sausages, pork
belly, bok choy,
a stinky fruit
(durian) milkshake,
noodles transparent,
tentacular,
the act of faith
that no one you know
has, after a thousand cuts,
wound up inside
today’s pork bun —
all these I know,
but I draw the line at
stew of a black dog,
and jellyfish.
