Today at BiciRuta I met someone from Slow Food Merida and was reminded of this poem I wrote back in 1997 for Arthur Bierman, who started Slow Food San Francisco years before jilly-come-lately Alice Waters even knew about it. It may be the best poem I’ve ever written. It is designed to be recited aloud.
TEMPUS STATO
On Olympus Epicurius
We’d live outside of time,
Where hastiness is mortal sin,
And gulping… is a crime.
T’would be… could we,
To dine… at geologic pace,
Every bite an eon savored,
An epoch… every taste.
Whole lands before us would appear
To be eroded piece-by-piece,
‘Til at last with sourdough,
We sop up the very least.
Without sorrow… without pity,
We’d laugh at those below,
Who barely stop to breathe… less eat,
As they scurry to and fro.
Every sip of wine… millenia,
A century, ‘tween each plate.
T’would it be, should we,
To dine… at glacial rate.
Like Culinary Colossae,
We’ll live outside of time,
Where every pleasure lasts a day
And impatience… is a crime.
5 October 1997
Dedicated to Arthur Bierman, friend, advisor, employer, and the coolest landlord ever.
Stannous Flouride's Book of Truthiness 
Sorry about the gray text. I can’t figure out why it happened or how to stop it.
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