Veggie Soup: Whole Beans, Potatoes, And Thangs Poem by Nika McGuin

no lentil soup to be had tonight
instead spicy taco soup, meatless luckily
most nights here they serve
chicken and sausage gumbo
or chicken noodle soup
and various forms
of white goop

such is the lot of vegetarians
and the lot of vegans
is craggier by far

it's preparing yourself for the fact
that there's probably nothing prepared, for you
and feeling extremely grateful when there is
but even then, it's probably only one dish
so you go overboard
and appear to be greedy
because you're gobbling it all up
taking two bowls instead of one
to prevent an almost certain second trip

it's becoming a scavenger
in the wilderness that is american cuisine
its walking down the grocery aisles
and getting embarrassingly excited
when you find something that doesn't
read: 'with chicken' or rather 'with beef'

it's being that character
who lingers on the frozen foods aisle
for extended periods of time
considering steamed potato options
and filling their cart to the roof
with green giant valley fresh steamers

it's realizing you are the archetypal oddling,
the aberrant one out of the bushel
especially if you live in the south
uber-especially if you're afro-american
and your family is green, to all but soul food
which frankly, should be renamed as:
'how to drain the soul out of food'
the soul, being the nutrients and vitamins,
the entire purpose of eating vegetables

to my family, if your red beans and rice
contains whole beans, that are veritably
recognizable as a member of the legume family
and not the red mushy substance family,
then you're obviously doing it wrong
and they'll agree unanimously, you're a bad cook
of the absolute worst caliber
such dedication is admirable,
to say the least

to my family, if you cook a dish
of exceptionally high culinary rank
with meat that screams 'look for me! '
their appetites will shout in unison
despite your betokenings of its expense

in my family, needless to say
they think I'm from some distant star,
that I could possibly be adopted
decidedly, the blacker sheep
amongst black sheep even