Wednesday was a good night. Erin and I went to go hear Maya Angelou speak at the Bucksbaum Lecture. She was able to project humor and seriousness at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed her frail yet fiesty demeanor, especially when she read this poem:
Oh, what a woman, and a St. Louis woman at that!
The Health-Food Diner
No sprouted wheat and soya shoots
And
Brussels in a cake,
Carrot straw and spinach raw,
(Today, I need a steak).
Not thick brown rice and rice pilaw
Or mushrooms creamed
on toast,
Turnips mashed and parsnips hashed,
(I'm dreaming of a roast).
Health-food folks around the world
Are thinned by
anxious zeal,
They look for help in seafood kelp
(I count on breaded veal).
No smoking signs, raw mustard greens,
Zucchini by the
ton,
Uncooked kale and bodies frail
Are sure to make me
run
to
Loins of pork and chicken thighs
And
standing rib, so prime,
Pork chops brown and fresh ground round
(I crave them all the time).
Irish stews and boiled corned beef
and hot
dogs by the scores,
or any place that saves a space
For smoking carnivores.
-- Maya Angelou
Oh, what a woman, and a St. Louis woman at that!
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