DENYING THE MEAT

           We have a chef who makes

           The greatest meat loaf in the world.

           It’s so great I told him

           To put it on the menu.

           So whenever we have it,

           Half the people order it.

           But then afterward,

           If you ask them what they ate . . .

           They always deny it.

                         May 19, 1997

                         THE NEW YORKER