Lament to a lost Mid-Autumn love

As the wisp of a moon radiantly swells with each passing autumn night, my very essence twists and turns in waves of torment and anguish. Deep inside me the passion and the hunger grow more intense with each passing hour, and the pain of separation weighs heavy on my heart. As I look back on our life together, from that breathtaking moment your alluring smile first captivated my soul in the bustling night markets of Shanghai to our last torrid encounter together on a haze chocked Singapore night, I am overcome with a torrent of emotion like no other has brought before you, and perhaps no one will ever again. Oh my lover, my epicurean Aphrodite, the comforter of my weary and troubled soul, where are you?

It is only a few short days until the luminous light of a pregnant autumn moon baths over the landscape and yet, thousands of miles and an eon of time have forced themselves between us. From deep within, my inner being shouts out the anguished cry, “Where are you my precious Moon Cake?” Ah, my lovely little moon cake, you tantalizing concoction of salty egg and sweet red bean paste adorned with a tapestry of lard-laden dough! Who would have ever thought I would miss you so much?

Oh, I know you will doubt the sincerity of this humble confession, for my words and my deeds of before belied any hint of affection or tender feeling toward you. Those times I spoke of you in the same breath as garish and hideous Father’s Day ties and stale and tasteless Christmas fruitcakes must of hurt you to the core. The fact that I often took you in my arms only to pass you off to another was indeed a despicable and heartless act, and one that I know you can never forgive. You must still bear the scars from the countless times I cast you aside with the same insensitivity of tossing rubbish in a bin. My “on and off” romance with those brightly colored and tawdry jelly-skinned imposters and that passionate, but short-lived, love affair with your cool, unnaturally sophisticated ice cream sisters, all decked out in their faux-Danish attire, were reason enough to turn your heart cold. I must admit, with each passing year that you showered me with countless wishes for harmony and longevity I became more callous and soon lost any sense of gratitude for your annual blessing, driving you further and farther away.

Now as I sit here in loneliness, unable to find even a hint of joy in the doughnuts, bagels and Tasty Kakes that surround me, or even those charlatans we whore after me from websites in San Francisco or New York, I must bring myself to accept the stark reality that only you, a genuine moon cake, born from the hands of the Goddess of Immortality and infused with blessings of abundance and togetherness with family and friends, can sate my hungry and empty soul.

To my friends out there, may you and your family share in a wonderful and Happy Mid Autumn Festival. 中秋节快乐!

P.S. Please send moon cakes!