Domo Arigatou Pi

Begin

with a

stick of creamy

pale yellow softened butter

slowly absorbing a cup of

sugar--crystals mixed with two eggs,

beaten, binding and inclusive, enfolding unexpected flavors

of sweet tropical coconut and woodsy chopped pecans,

sun-dried, wrinkled golden raisins--the Lazarus of fruits--

mix well into an orgy of sticky decadence and pour

into a deep pie shell--after adding the most important ingredient

to the concoction before baking at 350 degrees for forty-five minutes--

something surprising: oriental, tip-of-your-tongue familiar but the mind cannot name:

vinegar! The titillating tang--this is no ordinary pi.