Soups and Stews

Day 6, November Poetry Month

Soups and Stews

Cold weather hurdles
into our lives with bouts of snow,
cold mornings, even colder evenings,
and periodic biting winds
that seem to seep through
any kind of clothing,
stinging the face,
making your eyes water,
and pushing you
into a delirious doldrum.
As I trudge home, a bit dejected,
knowing it will be cold again tomorrow
and probably the next day,
I dare say—even admit—
that I think about soup,
warm soup, hot soup,
soups full of things I love.
I think of white bean chili,
regular bean chili with meat,
basil tomato, and chicken vegetable.
Then, images of Joanne’s famous stew
rush to my mind, a stew swirling
with potatoes, meat, onions, carrots,
tomatoes, celery, and some other ingredients
too sacred to mention in public,
including heavy sprinklings
of cilantro, dried or fresh.
Surely, it’s the breads that complement—
oatmeal and honey, Joanne’s French bread,
cornbread, wheat bread, and scones,
those luscious ones made from just flour,
yeast, water, and a pinch of this and that.
The culminating factor for me
for a soup or stew meal has to be
jam and jelly. Who can resist
homemade raspberry, strawberry,
plum, apricot, or peach?
Any jam or jelly, really!
Soups and stews exude peace
and a soothing of the soul,
a satisfaction oozing deep
into every pore, lessening the stress,
anxiety, and whatever ails you.
That first mouthful is savory, delicious,
delicate, comfortingly divine—
and you breathe a sigh of relief,
and can eat more than you should,
especially when no one is looking.

November 6, 2022