Tender Piglets

What Stein did with buttons
I like to do with piglets—
tenderize them in water

marinate them live with lemon
juice and vinegar in deep
clear Corningware casseroles

then spit and roast them
over mesquite chips
till the skin crackles

fat melting and filling
the air with the scent
of downhome dinner

don’t imagine cute matters
don’t think about cruelty
just smack those lips and dig in

the appetite is all