She Took Herself Out For Fried Chicken
A poem about a woman taking herself and her inner child out on a foodie date
There is a new fried chicken joint in town—
It was on the paper, featured in the local blogs
Called Win Win Chick N
A cute white ‘n red stop
In the seaside town of Steveston
Her old haunt, Red Rooster,
had closed down months before,
and since then,
her foodie heart has been yearning
for a new fried chicken home
*
Opened by a Filipino family, apparently
Hearing this, her eyes widened even more—
as this is were she was born
She couldn’t wait to take a bite
of that famous Filipino hospitality
that no other country can compare
no matter how hard they tried
*
Then came the day
when she knew it was her chance
A fine, breezy sunny day
When she and her wanderlust
wanted to come out and dance
*
She picked out a favourite, flesh-fitting dress
It had etheric, shimmery red-and-torquoise patterns
And silver sequins that made her feel her best
She sashayed down the village streets
In that cute hip-hugging outfit,
tossing her tushie up and down
She couldn’t help but feel giddy
That she was, about to have the best comfort food in town
*
But first, but wait, she was lured to look—
Taking a pretty peek into a shop
It seduced her to window-see
Even though there wasn’t anything in particular
on which she wanted to spend her penny
(except for the fried chicken)
*
Wandering into the shop,
She discovered it was owned by a Chinese lady;
They had beautiful and unusual things
the kind that made her stop and pause
“These pretty hats are on sale,”
the lady chirped in Chinese
“Look how bright these colours are; try them on—
how gorgeous you will be!”
Tentatively, she tried them one by one
A little furrow on her brow—
discouraged by her unusually large head size,
But, no matter, the lady said, pointing to her skull—
“It just means there’s a treasure of wisdom inside!”
She said it with a wink
and that magical twinkle in her eye
that made the girl give in to the sale
and actually buy
*
So on her merry way she goes
In her pretty dress
and a pink, wide-brimmed ribboned hat
She turned heads
as she strutted towards the cozy chicken shack
*
As lady-like as she could, she made her order
3 pieces of chicken, a side of fries, and a cup of gravy too
Her insides smiled as
she set the picnic table for two
one setting for her
and another setting for her special boo
(invisible friend, and inner little girl,
who loves to be treated to good food)
*
Her order arrived, mmmm…
Three crispy, golden piping hot fried chicken
Snug together in a small take-out box
A paper cup of gravy
and a bag of fresh-cut thick fries
Without washing her hands (she didn’t care)
She dived in and devoured her chicken feast
like a hungry, wild-forest bear
her legs crossed, and her pink hat tossed aside
It was her, and only her;
Sticky, greasy fingers clawing onto juicy chicken flesh
This fried chicken date is tasting
ever so sublime
*
Soon more customers came swarming in
The lady attracted some attention
And a small boy stared
He is thinking,
Look, the lady in the pretty dress—
legs propped up on the bench
Not a care in the world
Eyes closed,
Just the greasy, crunchy bites
and finger-licking goodness
No, it’s not KFC
It’s even better
This fried chicken
is surely after her Filipino heart
Not a care in the world
It’s just her and the goodness of comfort chicken
Right from the start
© 2018 Rosalyn C. RainDancer
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