Lament for a Long-Departed Empire: A New Poem by Eryk Nielsen

2038-01-19T03:14:07Z

Friendly's kitchen, Ah, God, Friendly's kitchen, I do weep for thee.
Holy City,
Martial Empire,
Mecca of Culinary Grace,
Bastion of Freedom,
You
Are
My
World.

I weep for thee, Friendly's kitchen.
Freely flow the tears for those beautiful days
You nurtured me with kindness
as I nourished my hometown with home fries.
No experience approaches your ecstasy
No location resembles your radiance
No city can best your seraphic inhabitants:

Lord Fridge and Lady Freezer, stocked full with savory meats, cheeses, and veg.
Constable Cold-Tray, keeping bad taste at bay with his deputies: tomato, lettuce, and kale.
Mighty Stovetops, blistering hot, cooking the food of the righteous.
God-King Fryolator, twice-weekly anointed with fresh and holy oil.
Ice Cream Station, a frozen bounty of treasures both cream-based and fruitsome.
Employee Meal, spoken of in whispers, who gave of his hours that others might eat.

And the Attendants of the Court, chattering gaily as they casually turn the Wheels of the Universe
Nymphly coeds mingling happily with bitter lifers
Bringing food to the hungry as gasoline brings cars to the road.

In the midst of such great works walked unworthy I, gangly long-haired virgin,
Sailing from shore to shore in the Great Ship Friendly's Kitchen.
Gladly did I stock your pantries
Humbly did I follow your recipes
Vainly did I think to improve on them while on break
But if any goodness, any benefit, any positive outcome at all did come from my efforts,
It came solely from my contact with your nobility.
Everywhere I go in life I carry your Dream.

At the end of each shift, I walked out your door and died.
At the beginning of the next, I entered again and was reborn.
I weep for thee, Friendly's kitchen, nine years gone
Each day that I live, I live in the shadow of your passing.

(Dedicated to the memory of Matt Sweeney, who is still alive)

What in hell?

Lament for a Long-Departed Empire: A New Poem by Eryk Nielsen