Lentils and barley,
water and salt,
split peas and pasta—
pure to a fault—
stir until clouded,
season to taste,
boil and then simmer,
nothing to waste.
Greens can be added.
Time’s on a loop.
Towers have toppled
into the soup.
Cauldron of comfort
served with warm hands,
this is a recipe
crisis demands.
—Claudia Gary
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