The last line by Yi Lei

Long, long ago, a dried, kosher salami
sought me out and filled my world with a fervor
for the chewy comfort of that
pinched and shriveled skin.
Becoming a vegetarian, my cravings turned away from my
childhood and hunted out recipes of beans and lentils with
a multitude of casseroles combining rice or noodles
with greens and cheeses.
Flirting with the world of the vegan, I found
a passion for a vegan jerky and would eat bags
of it during lunch at work as a kind of homage
to that cured meat I was so fond of.
Now with disease and the ongoing pandemic,
I have landed into the world of dried mangos
and chew with such pleasure despite everything.
Desire is dead, long live desire.