Poets’ Pie

Banned in every state except Pennsylvania 
research linked the consumption
to nearly all deaths, so
no more pizza in America
except at home, with a cigarette
yet Pennsylvania persisted
specifically Pittsburgh, it was the last city
to institute, 
a pizza ban
before though, I found the last piece
for sale at Tony’s
and ate that pizza with a beer
now in the hospital
no pizza, no beer, just a memory
triangles of temptation, 
tears at Tony’s
as my children eat Asian pears
as my grandchildren drink kombucha
I slowly pass, degrade with the cardboard boxes
slip into a puddle of grease
the white paper plates held between forefinger and thumb
American anthems retune, trends come
healthizza is here, plant-based forever
to Tony’s to persist, each generation to succumb