OYSTER
Bandage your hand
against the bladed shell
work the knife well into the slot
(imagine a paint scraper at rusted rim)
and prise the lid off,
keeping the juices in.
Raise carefully to the chin
then bite the tongue out by the root;
suck it from its mouth of pearl
and chew, never swallow.
This is not sex, remember;
you are eating the sea.
--Robin Robertson
