I've been eating a lot of burgers lately and it's gettin' me down. Although I'm careful not to stuff my face, by the third or fourth all-beef patty of the day my stomach feels tight and my mind slows to a greasy dribble. I crave something to re-start my failing mental faculties and energize my mind for the next burger tasting. As always in these situations, I turn to Japanese poet Basho for inspiration:
Sick on my journey
only my dreams will wander
these desolate moors
Of course, that was Basho's death poem, so maybe it's not quite the inspiration I'm hoping for.
I think you guys can do better, at least when it comes to burgers. Drop your most impressive burger haiku — following the 5,7,5 syllable form — into the comments and I'll give the winner a big fat prize. (Probably a burger.) Here's one to get you started:
Sixty four burgers
beloved beef, salt and fat
compete for the prize
You can do better. Get started!
This article appears in Feb 20-26, 2008.