But there was food and
I could not eat,
And here was wine and
I dared not drink.
Mine was to watch, to wait,
Never early or late
Posted, never to taste
Forever on the fringe
Two standards away.
Nor could mine own
swallow today,
A helping of the least.
We\'re a feast apart.
Welcome to my menu.
Like me with the sinew,
The dregs, the skin, and the pits.
You can pray and I can wish
That someday, grace will food our lips.
Augustus / Redlands CA / August 23, 1987