NaPoWriMo, Day Twelve: “Frozen Dinner”

Frozen Dinner

There’s no time anymore
so you learn to approximate,

find cracks in your life’s joy
-less tile to grout with pleasure:

not cooking but a simulacrum
of it, the three-sectioned tray

& thin plastic enclosing
icy blocks: potato and steak,

macaroni & the husks
of vegetables, all composed

in a parody of human warmth.
You still look for better fare

when you can, but you don’t
hate this anymore, thankful

as you are just for salt,
flavor, willing self-deception

and the ease of a microwave,
the tray that keeps on spinning

as you watch through the grille,
savoring a minute of calm.

Thanks for reading! April is National Poetry Writing Month, and this year I’m writing and publishing a poem about food each day. My 2021, 2020, and 2019 NaPoWriMo poems (about GIFs, the Fast and Furious movies, and car insurance, respectively) are still live on Medium, so check out my profile if you want more.