INOCULATION

Grimy light

we have to watch our feet

stepping over essential

food chains-

rats chewing on bones

discarded by people

chewing on bones

cooked by people

-folding tables gas burners -

living close to the bone.

We are hungry for bread

and this baleful bistro has come

highly recommended

by those who crave yeast.

Beer coke soft brown Turkic eyes

and the smell from the kitchen

like an old sleeping bag.

Blunted by the hunger of the world

we have come

for our remedy

hoping to revive interest in

government the devices of business

each other.

Below old fifties posters

of faded matadors and bulls

we eat

chili con carne

with bamboo shoots.

Then bread and more

and some to take back with us

for tomorrow

tearing off and chewing

another and another

salty wad

good good but not quite...

Through streets of garrulous asceticism

we clutch our dose

ungainly loaves

that will cure by making us hungry

for different flours

different strains of yeast

when we are home

and ill at ease.

China 1995