Uncut noodles, embodied wishes for a long,
full life– lifted in loops from the pot
where they boiled to just the right
firmness. A plate of rice cakes
sweetened with coconut sugar. Friends
to share the repast with and guarantee
a future. What harm could there be
in taking care to eat each strand
as one glistening, continuous road,
a ribbon to swallow as a hurried blur?
Better than a sword or flaming torch—
though sometimes it’s hard to figure if this
life isn’t as quick to burn, leaving
imprints hard to tell apart from blisters.