'Tis Spicy Meat ...

Thanks for giving me permission to eat as many hot dogs, sausages, and brats as I wanted for the month. And thanks for letting me share my experience with you. Now I can focus on what remains of my 100 Day Wellness Challenge, which pretty much stood in opposition to Hot Dog Month.

However, in the spirit of saving the best for last, I bring you the Shakespearean sausage sonnet my son wrote in 2006 for AP English when he was a senior. He won honorable mention in the Shakespeare Festival sonnet competition that year. His sonnet was a welcome departure from all the over-romanticized, flowery submissions that actually won.

"'Tis Spicy Meat Encased in Something Gross"

'Tis spicy meat encased in something gross
Yet sausage still enthralls my taste buds fair
It tops the pizza style I love the most
About its taste loud trumpets soundly blare,
Yet sausage in the morn I care for not
Its blend of spices make my stomach churn
While eating I can feel my vessels clot
The time of day causes my heart to burn
I long for sausage with my pasta dish
The taste combined with sauce, it is divine
The sausage rest'raunts serve fulfills my wish
When I am 21 I'll eat with wine
All I can say is thank you, Jimmy Dean
For making sausage for this hungry teen.