White Castle Liturgy
Let us name the little square things
with their five stigmata inexplicable.
Not respectfully.
Their sanctum is no cardinal's cathedral
but a stainless porcelain & shining steel temple
where pure spirit meets impure food
and martyrdom is a matter of digestion.
Only street-corner bodhisattvas can swear
to the holiness of this liturgy
It's the idea of the thing, the form,
so mysterious to snobs and dilettantes
that is sacred to these fast-food militants.
They choose by act of faith, of will
by bun and burger to take their sacraments.
And in the glow of a greasy fluorescence,
in the giddy gothic modernism
of drive-in battlements and streamlined sandwiches,
they give themselves over to steamy ecstacy.
"If we had a king instead
of a president, the White House
would be a White Castle, and you
can't have enough of those."
Found on a computer
screen at a Highland Superstore
From the inside
Hi! I would like to say that White Castle is a pleasant place to work. The people are very nice, and while we are working we have a good time and still get our work done. We make sure that customers are happy and well taken care of. I am happy with the White Castle System and hope you are also.
Landmark White Castle in Minneapolis, circa 1978.
White Castle world HQ, Columbus, Ohio
The official Castle site
The White Castle meat product tolerance marathon scorebook
(courtesy Princeton University Band)
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Copyright William Swislow 1989