What mean we when we say American?
Exactly what’s included and what’s not
when we refer to us and who we’ve been,
and what is meant when we say melting pot?
Do candlemakers use them for their craft?
Or is it where we heat and serve fondue?
Did someone say it once and hearers laughed
because it was appropriately true?

I think of crock pot when I hear the phrase:
a pot of crock for cooking, slow command,
that meshes all it holds into a maze
of mingled flavors indiscrete and bland.
And I resist the use of melting pot,
but if I know a better I forgot.