l'Omelette

another poem as a recipe

(Imagine photo of an omelette here)

Small steel pan
Barely smoking from collecting heat
Plump globs of butter melting into a pool of golden olive oil
Sizzle Hiss Fizzle
It is ready

Two eggs in a bowl
Identical orange orbs smashed together with the curve of a spatula
Twirled in tandem, a tye-dye of white and yolk
Salt, Za’atar, Chili

Poured in an even stream from porcelain to metal
Received by a waiting puddle of hot fat
Sizz Crack Spat
A frenzied encounter as the eggs and oil negotiate their roles in the pan

Whirl Swirl Spin
The eggs float around the surface, gliding effortlessly over the oiled surface
Wrinkled and set, now ready for their flip
A second of quiet whilst the egg is in orbit above the pan
The slightest side of one corner barely holding on
Then leaping over itself in a backflip
THWOP!
A practiced landing

The heat goes off
Swirl and Whir
Round and Round
A few more times
It is ready

I hold the handle, pan against plate, more gymnastics
The egg rolls down over itself
Another practiced landing onto the plate

My fork pierces the wobbly cylinder
Gold and white, speckled with green and red
A sigh of savory steam
I lift it to my tongue, close my eyes, and savour

The flavor of gratification
The flavor that chases hunger to another place
The flavor of

An omelette