Bad Poetry Thursday: Chipati of my Youth

Here's a shout-out to any Michigan Alumni, Ann Arborites, or like me, both!

Chipati of my Youth

October 3, 1990
East and West Germany are reunited
3:00 AM the streets are quiet in Ann Arbor
The Diag bathed in moonlight
Careful! Don’t step on the M!
You won’t graduate.

Strolling home from a night of clubbing
Alternative Night! Nectarine Ballroom!
DJ Tom Simonian!
I feel a hunger deep in the pit of my soul
Pizza House! Pizza House!
Open until 4:00AM
And they deliver
Chipati.

Fresh baked whole wheat pita
Stuffed with nature’s bounty
Crispy lettuce, green pepper, sweet red pepper,
Mushroom, tomato
Feta? Add two dollars
Sauce on the side.

The mysterious sauce still haunts me
16 years later
This sauce, bathing my veggies
Soaking into my fresh baked pita
Tangy and hot and red
Sensory overload.

Oh Chipati
Oh glorified salad-in-a-pita
Served with mysterious red sauce on the side
You have many fans
Some enthusiastic
Some still in the closet
We wonder what black art created thee

Alchemy? It must be
You, saucy red enigma
Give forth your secrets
Unveil your magical olfactory melange
Of what are you made?
Ranch dressing, Frank’s RedHot Sauce,
And the philosopher’s stone…
Ketchup

He gets letters:

"I grew up in Ann Arbor. Haven't thought about the Nectarine Ballroom since I was... oh... 17. Thanks for the nostalgia injection."

"umm. what does all this mean?" (with pic attached)