James Tate




The Soup of Venus

The soup is cold
and it needs something
you probably didn’t follow
the recipe, you were
in a hurry and wanted
to surprise me.
That was sweet of you
but you forgot
that I don’t like
cold soup.
You might try adding
one bay leaf
while you are in there.
The salt is on the table
and I will experiment
with that myself.
The parsley doesn’t
taste much but it
does improve
the appearance.
You used to make
such good soup.
I always bragged
about your soup.
I think that’s what
originally attracted me
to you, that hot soup
you used to make.
I loved that soup.
Do you still have
that recipe?
Well this tastes
a little better now,
lukewarm soup
is my second favorite.