by Charles Troob
Look darling a lava pizza
bubbling and overflowing
a change from pepperoni
and heartburn
Nero’s bad press was earned
but we all do regrettable things
and Nero smelled nice
when he wanted to
though maybe I’m thinking of Marcus Aurelius
or Nebuchadnezzar
I’m not good with names
the pizza is ready
peel away the magma
and plunge in with me
Pizza and a volcano crater–once you associate them in your mind, it’s hard to unsee. I have fond memories of a study group on Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, but the real inspiration is probably “That’s amore.”