United States, (b. 1965)
Solution to a Morning of Little Possibility:
Frying Bacon
- Get the big skillet from its hook,
- peel off one unguent strip at a time,
- butchered and cured
- down the road by some old boys
- who worship the pig,
- and load that thing up
- over medium-high heat.
- Get your hands greasy, deep
- in the pores, stand over it
- working the rhythms until
- your glasses steam,
- your tongue’s wagging in a wet mouth.
- Let it splatter. Let it burn,
- stain, and make an ungodly mess.
- Forget about the menu.
- Bacon takes care of bacon,
- the unctuous agency of pork,
- the holy salt-flesh and sweet-fat
- better than Jesus
- and Elvis rolled together.
- Get the whole house smelling good,
- the dog on high alert.
- Damn it, son. This may be
- the best day of your wasted life.
Worship the Pig
- Holy loin, blessed shoulder,
- belly, fatback, cutlet. Sacrament
- of rib, ham, jowl, and hock.
- Snout to tail, border to border,
- sing loud of headcheese,
- pickled foot, crispy ear,
- of pancetta, lardo, prosciutto.
- Of sausage and casing.
- Holy phrases. Denomination
- of Bacon, Order of the Rump,
- Sect of the Crown Rib,
- Deep Cult of the Crackling.
- All praise be thy earthly flesh,
- thy sweet white fat, well-salted,
- prepared for our good
- and greasy consumption.
- Turned on spit for the faithful.
- Buried in a hot, covered grave.
- Tended by priestly ritual
- in a pit of smoking embers.
- Pig oink. Split belly with blade,
- pig squeal. Sever head, pig die.
- We love the blood, bone,
- blackened skin. Love the pig.
- We dance, we pray, we dig in.
- Bowed at table, we raise
- the wondrous flesh to lips.
- Eat in thanks, pig hallelujah.
About the Poet:
Gaylord Brewer, United States, (b. 1965), is a poet and educator. He received his BA from the University of Louisville and his MA and PhD from Ohio State University. Since 1993 Brewer has been a professor in the Department of English at Middle Tennessee State University, where he founded and for more than 20 years edited the journal Poems & Plays.
He is the author of fifteen previous books of poetry, fiction, criticism, and cookery. Brewer is both a critic and a poet. Nearly 1000 of his individual poems have been published in various journals and such anthologies as Best American Poetry and the Bedford Introduction to Literature.
His many international residencies include Hawthornden Castle (Scotland) and the Global Arts Village (India), and he has taught in Russia, Kenya, England, and the Czech Republic. Brewer was awarded a Tennessee Arts Commission Fellowship in 2009. [DES-07/22]
Additional information:
- Brewer’s Middle Tennessee State University faculty page