(onion)

I put the onion
that has fallen apart
back together,
like a jigsaw puzzle.
All vegetables
like to be sliced
in a certain direction,
like working with
the grain of wood
or cloth –
or hair.
This onion has been
cut the way
we were taught
to do so,
that is, to make slices
appropriate for a hamburger.
In fact, it prefers
the other way,
and is much sweeter
when allowed
to go with its grain
instead of against it.
I am as well.

2/5/99