That hamburger from hell
It did not go down well
Who knew a fast-food order
Could wreak gastric disorder?
The lettuce was too squishy
The patty tasted fishy
The cheese was chunky-chewy
The mayo grossly gooey.
The bun was three days stale
Which caused my soul to ail
The French fries stank of oil
And funky alu-foil.
I did not realize
How sauce can traumatize
God help my hurt papillae
Now everything tastes silly.
The pickles, super sour
Their brine fumes overpower
The odor left me dour
And retching in the shower.
I curse the baleful mustard
And how it lumped like custard
It left my taste buds flustered
Despite the gall I mustered.
A ruined appetite
Can make one’s phrasing trite
Long spells in the latrine
Have turned this poet mean!
Wael Almahdi is a poet, translator, and healthcare professional from Bahrain. In 2023, he won a High Commendation from the Stephen Spender Poetry Translation Prize. His Classical Arabic translations include work by Lewis Carroll (‘Jabberwocky’), Carl Jung (‘Seven Sermons to the Dead’, as yet unpublished), and Hanan Issa, the National Poet of Wales. His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in ArabLit Quarterly, Copihue, Snakeskin, The Knight Letter, The Raven’s Perch, Ekstasis, Blue Minaret, The Ravi Magazine, and Beletra Almanako.
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