Dad's barbeque
is something of a ritual-
not in the sense of beginning
the spring and ending late summer,
for he continues his barbequeing
through fall and winter.
It is the barbequeing process itself
and the means by which
he does his barbequeing
that brings forth the imagery
of ritual and ceremony.
"Bring forth the sacrfice,
the raw and bloody meat,
to the altar of the BBQ!"
"Prepare the seasoning!"
Slowly the smell of roasting meat arises
to the second floor balcony.
A voice rings out:
"Bring forth the festival platter!"
And relatives, recently arrived,
Inquire about the main dish
That for our meal has been prepared.
And so often Dad replies
that such a special occasion and gathering
calls for nothing less than
chicken lips and weenie dogs
and other "edible" things.
Yeah right, Dad-
I know we're having
ribs or buffalo wings.
After the meat's fully cooked,
And the BBQ extinguished,
We move on to enjoy
the roasted sacrifice,
whatever meat be it,
In a meal happily celebrating
our family's joyful gathering.
Author notes
Ironic one must die that another can live. I pity the chickens for loss of their lips, and those darling weenie dogs, ever in search of a bun.
In a list
What are your favorite family memories?
Comments
1 - 6 of 6
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this is so cute! it shows me a funny image of good-spent family times. thanks for the entry and best of luck!
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This was so funny. It reminded me of my dad always joking around. I like the way it tells of memories in a story that read like a poem.
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Wonderful! I can taste those chicken lips now, but those weenie dogs have a tendency to "slip the bun", if you know what I mean.
Of course, it's not the roasting of the meat that's important, it's the gathering of family and friends.
Thank you for brightening my day.
Brazos
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I felt good reading this- which I see was the objective of the contest you entered. I liked this, reminds me of bbqs at my grandfather's campground when I was younger. Good times, thanks for sharing,
KP
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Ha Ha i love it its great. We dont really have a BBQ as a family gathering its more of a Crawfish boil. Really good and i have many great memories of them. thanks for jogging my memory and for the great poem.
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An excellent idea to write about a family gathering in this way where not just the meal, but that tradition of that meal is celebrated.
Well done.
Many thanks and good luck in my contest.
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