Pure Sex

Oysters with champagne,
steamed clams with ale:
these are momentous occasions
against which pale
other more elaborate meals;

and then, the mussel,
the clitoris of the bivalves we eat
that tastes so sweet
when steamed with shallots and garlic;

and then to dine,
plucking mussels direct from the shell
and dipping thick bread
in the broth.