Tonight's Poet Corner: When Cheese Isn't Enough

When Cheese Isn't Enough
by Belinda Roddie

What sad soul came up with that?
What do you do when cheese isn't enough?
Do they just eat slices of plastic American
in between long spells of hibernation?
What do you do - cheese is always enough!

Nothing like a curt Pepper Jack
to go with that nightly glass of riesling
or white zinfandel; a serene Gruyere
in onion soup to soothe an aching head
with a strong cider in frost. The sharp Cheddar
swelling in bubbly broth on french bread
just broiled in the toaster oven you have
sandwiched between the coffee maker and the
refrigerator.

The king of the world
should have every helping of Swiss curdled bliss.
Happy Havarti with a greens garnish. Melted Mozzarella
smothered beneath oodles of olive oil and
diced tomatoes. Blessed Brie with crackers.
Gouda-laden macaroni. Asiago bagels. And
every variety of goat's generosity.

Anywhere you go, it follows you -
the aged splendors in Paris with baguettes, the
wonders of Irish dairy in Dublin. And if you
try to tell me that the pseudo-milky delight
lazily withering on your one dollar cheeseburger
is not enough, you can go to Hell because
I don't give Edam.