American Cooking - March 18, 2023

tastes are usually optional

but not in the case of the

grilled cheese sandwich

and tomato soup

the salty oily crunch

and warm stringy goo

married to a creamy red

spoonful flecked with basil

escorted through the gate of lips

down a dark path to a hot party

of dancing couples

already raving in your gut

it’s in the American

Cookbook for the Soul

corner folded

on the recipe’s page

till it wore out tore out

slipped into a comfortable memory

that needs to be jogged

on those late afternoons

when the evening’s menu

carries no promise of fun

above or below the waist