Secret Identity Poem by Joshua (Houston Asia Society)

There once was a boy who started as a young chef…

Well in the making - he tried.

He love experimenting even if you would give his food an F,

And his success rate was around 60%, but 100% if he were to decide.

Too soon all told him the cost,

And he believed this dream was completely lost,

He threw away the apron (he thought it was forever),

And set his sights beyond.

So what did he do?

Debate team where all he did was argue.

The political issues he explained in round

In real life he couldn’t care less about the problems abound.

But he started to miss

Giving the chef’s kiss to dishes that most would dismiss.

Taking inspiration from Ravel who didn’t care

If people liked his music or listened with despair.

The boy now a young man took to experimenting

There was no going back, no regretting.

The flavors he chose

His fame actually rose

Now people appreciated his cooking (it was refined).

But was there more to the world?

The young chef pondered about the stories of suffering he told (in his debate years).

To make a difference the young chef decided

That charity cooking for those in need must be added.

He went to Asia and he went to Africa,

In countries he served - not just in America.

Through these endeavors he then started to see

How bad government corruption could really be.

He turned towards investigating the tensions between

The US and other countries - just look at the news and it can be easily seen.

So what did he do?

He applied to be a diplomat and start anew.

This time in the Department of State,

He directly served what people ate.

But this time in countries that needed negotiating,

And diplomacy came along quite nicely, surprising!

Now if you know about current events,

You might know in Russia and Ukraine war could erupt.

So for now the young chef’s story ends (because the war is still going),

But his work continues as he fights the corrupt.

Whether he succeeds or ends in failure,

His cooking career went from explosions (in his house) to valor.