ODE TO A SHRIMP PO BOY: By Howard Moss

After eating the mound
of potato chips heaped precariously
over all the plate,
I discovered a loaf
of fresh french bread
sliced into two
six-inch halves,
each hollowed out from the center.

The shrimp, swimming
in a thick tomato sauce,
cascaded out each half of bread
onto the plate,
covering a tangy spear
of dill pickle
in the center.

After coaxing the shrimp
back in the bread,
I picked up the left half
and sighed with pleasure
as the pleasant aroma
teased my nose.

Each bite
began with a tear
of delightfully chewy bread
between the teeth
and continued with a mouthful
of delicious shrimp
in a thick and zesty sauce.

The pickle spear,
blanketed nurturingly in po-boy sauce,
provided a fine intermission.

And the second act
was as satisfying
as the first.