This poem is called "Soup."
And it's more or less stolen from the Marcia Brown
children's book Stone Soup, where soldiers
come into a village with nothing to eat.
And they have just a pot of boiling water
with a stone in it, and they pretend it's delicious.
And the neighbors all want to try it,
so they're told if they add vegetables to the pot,
they can have some of the soup.
And at the end, they have a wonderful, rich soup.
And I start with a quotation from that book, "A rich man's
soup, and all from a few stones."
"If your heart feels like a stone, make stone soup of it.
Borrow the parsley from a younger woman's garden,
dig up a bunch of rigid carrots.
Your own icebox is full of the homely of vegetables.
Now, cry into the pot.
When he comes home, serve him a steaming bowl full,
then watch him as he bites into the stone."
[LAUGHING]
When I published this chapbook I had a party for everyone
that was associated with it, in which I only
served food that was actually mentioned in the book.
And nobody wanted any soup.
[LAUGHTER]