THE CHINESE

have been reading
my poetry
of late.
Lots of them.

And I've been eating
their food,
it seems,
all my life;
first Jewish Chinese:
eggrolls, spare ribs,
Chow Mein,
Chop Suey,
mustard, soy,
and duck sauce.
Only later
did I discover
Chinese food
when I lived
with a Chinese woman.
Thank God.

We've been getting fat
on each other's by-products,
(I hope),
then
& now.
It's the definition
of free-
trade.

Norman Savage
Greenwich Village, 2015