Food Groups

by Paul Hooker

Tea and chocolate
make me wonder
if the world
is as safe a place
as it appears to be. 
 
Steak and eggs
prompt me to fear
that the circle
though it turns
is not unbroken. 
 
Wine and cheese
make me think
more highly
of myself
than I ought to think.
 
Whiskey and water
help me trust
that the day’s trouble
is sufficient
for the day.
 
Toast and coffee
persuade me that
the fires of nightmares
are extinguished 
by controlled burns.