Ash Wednesday, to a former Catholic
Attending Catholic schools
as I did for 13 years
instills certain ideas into a person.
The nuns and lay teachers
assigned us all a Conduct grade
which was presented alongside
whatever progress we were making
in English and Math.
And why Penmanship deserved
its own letter grade
is something I’ll never understand.
When Ash Wednesday arrived every year
to mark the beginning of Lent,
we weren’t supposed to eat
meat of any kind.
Each Lenten Friday was like this, too.
On those days fish (typically perch)
was introduced into my family’s diet
and though I never liked going meatless,
the Catholics have their ways
and tolerating dissent
is not among them.
But the Catholics lost me
a long time ago
because I couldn’t see the world
as they wanted me to.
Ash Wednesdays
are now typically observed
with a cheeseburger
and a pepperoni pizza
any almost anything else
containing charred animal flesh.
Today restaurants are likely
to sell more fish than usual,
but they should also
keep a cheeseburger on hand
in case someone like me
decides to drop by.
