To Barbecue a Span of Time
Copyright (C) Leonard Richardson 2000

It takes a while
To barbecue a span of time
A style
A methodology recalling "service with a smile"
A shale
A snail
A pail, a nail
Down to the last retail detail
                        (It takes a while)
To realize the corn in flesh and stalk
Ad hoc
To walk the walk and talk the talk, to flip the burgers over, ea
sy but 
It takes
A while, the stakes
Are high, there must be no mistakes
                           (What is a weekend but a span of time?)
What is a barbecue but a waste of that time?
Why do this instead of that?
Why do that instead of nothing at all?

It takes a while
To overcome the natural urge to flee
To see
The elemental, transcendental
Sense of you instead of me
Alleve, retrieve, receive, deceive
Reallocate reality

Inscribing, graphing, running, laughing
It takes a while
To barbecue a span of time 
(And in that time)
To suffer and to realign
(To realign)
The elements of style and line
(The arc-cosine)
Of barbecues of spans of time
(Refuse, defuse, confuse)
(Refuse, defuse, confuse)

It takes a while
To deconstruct the patterns in the lake
To take
Advantage of the vantage point to point out every ripple and to make
A new 
Mistake or two
With lemonade and birthday cake

It takes a while
But every new success brings new rewards
D'accords
And chances to advance at the expense of pens of folks you always
                                              (Much mightier than swords)
Thought 
You knew,
The hot dogs too
Are good enough to win awards
                       (What is a weekend but a span of time?)
What is a barbecue but a waste of that time?
Why do this instead of that?
Why do that instead of nothing at all?