Soup

By Josh Graham

                                              
                                              you let me nibble
                                              on your leafy
                                              cabbage earlobes

                                              as you stirred and teased
                                              the stock
                                              bringing it to simmer

                                              we had a voluptuous stainless steel pot
                                              brimming with a rainbow of vegetables
                                              infused with savory chicken broth

                                              i whispered in your cauliflower ear
                                              let’s dive into the pot
                                              and swim
                                              simmering together in the boiling brew

                                              “why not?”  you replied
                                              and proceeded to make pot after pot
                                              of delicious chicken soup
                                              chopping rutabagas, celery, carrots, and garlic
                                              in massive quantities

                                              we delivered every crock from stove top to bathroom
                                              emptying the contents into the giant porcelain bowl
                                              that was our bathtub

                                              when it cooled enough
                                              we climbed in
                                              armed with soup spoons instead of scrub brushes
                                              we took our savory swim

                                              carrots and various veggies bobbed
                                              edible rubber ducks
                                              we sipped and slurped with delight and daring
                                              two fools soaking in a hot mess

                                              roasted garlic floated between the
                                              dumplings of your breasts
                                              you wiped the celery stalk hair from your brow
                                              to reveal your eyes
                                              rich potent bouillon cubes
                                              their density and flavor
                                              consolidated and unmatched

Josh Graham is a communications major who will graduate in the spring of 2013 from Bemidji State University.