The picnic table

You don’t want the meal,
you want the company. 
You want the collective chewing, 
the instinct leading in unison: 
yes, we are only human 
and this is what we need. 
The smell of apple-smoked charcoal 
lingering in your hair, 
the cubes of salt and flakes of pepper
picked out of your teeth, 
the hearty laughter 
and the sudden realization of fullness 
like your spirit is a popcorn kernel 
popping into a fluffy yellow bead—
a small but striking difference 
between the senseless hunger 
and the heartfelt need.

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