A Wild Palate Poem by Margaret Alice Second

This must be the scourge of allergic people
everywhere on earth, trying out new dishes
amazing new sauces from heaven, innovative
sausages with velvet textures - such delight
for a wild palate, enjoying forbidden pleasures

Exulting in the universal camaraderie of gourmets
then, terrible discomfort and malaise, torpor and
lassitude - uncontrollable urges to lie down, when
horizontal, neck stiffening, back contracting
the poor sufferer turning into a contortionist

Bending the body out of shape in an attempt to
become more comfortable in a body turned into
iron and steel, aching bones and joints, sinuses
clogged, breathing stops, life throttled out of the
glutton, once again new resolutions are made:

Tomorrow I shall be wise, only eat and drink the
tried and tested – if only I can survive the night
without succumbing to pain and fright…