Dinner Surprise Poem by Raymond Farrell

This past weekend in China
Was a long weekend
A national holiday
Known as The Dragon Boat Festival
Crews raced up and down
The Qiantang river in Hangzhou
Supporters waved banners and cheered loudly
Now the weekend is coming to a close
And this Monday afternoon
Students slowly drifted back
From their home towns and cities
I got a call from Florence
My good friend and student translator
She had just got back onto campus
And was anxious for us to eat dinner together
There was an uncharacteristic air of excitement
In her voice
Which left me wondering
What was up with her
We met for dinner at the canteen
And loaded our trays with the usual fare
But no sooner had we sat down
When Florence said
I have a surprise for you
I brought back from my home town
After this brief introduction
She took a bag of beetles
Out of her back pack
Would you like to try one
She asked
Now I know bugs are toted
In some quarters
As being the ideal source of fat free protein
In fact the majority of the world's population
Eat bugs
And while I was trying
To decide
Whether or not
To join their ranks
Florence began extolling
The medicinal value and
The nutritional value
Of eating bugs
I finally agreed to try one
My verdict
Not revolting
But not overly tasty
I don't expect to be seeing
Beetle dip on the grocery shelves
Any time soon
On second thought
This is China
And they do eat bugs
So who knows! ! !