Margaret Atwood

They eat out

In restaurants we argue
over which of us will pay for your funeral
 
though the real question is
whether or not I will make you immortal.
 
At the moment only I
can do it and so
 
I raise the magic fork
over the plate of beef fried rice
 
and plunge it into your heart.
There is a faint pop, a sizzle
 
and through your own split head
you rise up glowing;
 
the ceiling opens
a voice sings Love Is A Many
 
Splendoured Thing
you hang suspended above the city
 
in blue tights and a red cape,
your eyes flashing in unison.
 
The other diners regard you
some with awe, some only with bordom:
 
they cannot decide if you are a new weapon
or only a new advertisement.
 
As for me, I continue eating;
I liked you better the way you were,
but you were always ambitious.
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