Entree Special

Entrée Special

She took the juice

From two blood oranges, lemons,

ice wine vinegar, water, and xanthan gum.

Blended it to thicken it and

laid it on the plate.

She seared and basted sea scallops

in butter and sage with Himalayan Sea salt

and a pinch of white pepper. 

Meticulous in her design, she plated

The shellfish with Supremes of Meyer

Lemons, grapefruit, and tangerines.

With a birdcage of frisee lettuce over top.

Then she left the plate on the counter with

A recipe and a note that read,

Tonight’s special

Then she went into the walk-in cooler.

The staff arrived later in the morning for prep.

They found the culinary artist fatally motionless

in the cooler, with her back against the wall,

sitting on floor, blood like sap

pooled below her.

The pressure had become all too much,

and won.

Dried like flowers, dead and gone. Anxiety

to grow, be everything, be what everybody

wanted to be, it won. The staff ran the special

a week later, in memoriam.