I made a soup.
It was awful, inedible.
When I poured it down
the sink, the sink complained.
It snowed last night
and the world was beautiful.
Shoveling the walk and drive
was pleasant, and now
my calves ache, which reassures me
that I am not another,
a usurper in my stead.
If you are that usurper,
make my wife tomato soup.
She loves tomato soup.
I tried, I really tried.
Commentary (Barnard Swallow)
The making of soup, the vegetable itself, the snow, the epic resignation. Here, sexual politics adumbrates an older regime, a crown upon a bed of thorns. The simplicity of the need for something warming breaks one’s heart. But whose?
Copyright © 2026, Jon Cone and K. Lipschutz
FURTHER INFORMATION
Poem from An Acceleration & A Calm (2026), published by above/ground press.
P.M. Samson taught creative writing at OSU from 1978-2021.
Barnard Swallow holds advanced degrees and is an avid football fan. His criticism has been published widely.
Jon Cone is a Canadian writer. His published works include Family Portrait with Two Dogs Bleeding (2009).
K.Lipschutz is an American poet. His works include This Drawn & Quartered Moon (2013). He has co-written approximately 120 songs released by Chuck Prophet.
artwork “Der Poet und seine Muse” (1925), Alfred Schwarzschild.
above/ground press: 2423 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa, Ontario KLH 7M9, Canada.
Poetic Justice 
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