4 minute bowl of soup

I know the recipe

so I know it takes

longer to make, even

to simmer, let alone

chopping and adding

vegetables, sprinkling spices

and stirring and doling,

but I must fit the eating

to a patch of time

before my shift

and in just 4 minutes

(a fraction of what it took

to make this poem)

the flavors come through

and my belly is full.

originally published in vol. 66, issue 1, of The Lighter, fall 2019

image is my own, shot in my Athens apartment, Spring 2018