Cream of Corn with Mashed of Chicken Soup
is what the Menu lists, among other things
like Happy Family and Husband Delight.
And on the other laminated pages, pictures
of noodles velvet in many variations of sauce.
A stream of people arrives through the doors,
shaking drops of water from their umbrellas.
On windowpanes facing the street, the red-
green-yellow blur of traffic lights. Think
of a Hopper, but set in a different country—
where thick porcelain cups and plates
sit on formica-covered tables and rice
bowls are wreathed with steam. Language
translates imperfectly, but hunger knows
the shape of soup spoons delivering
the very thing for a night like this.
Purveyors of fine poetry since 2003.
