Poetry- "Soups"

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Soups

By Wayne Campbell
Who remembers having soup on Saturday?

Sure you do! It was customary to see Mom in the kitchen as early as the rooster crows

Preparing Turnips, Pumpkins, Carrots, Irish Potatoes, Oh Yes! Who can forget the flour dumpling?

Dumplings without cornmeal and as huge as a cartwheel,

Yellow Yam as dry as starch and coco too

Garlic, Dasheen, Escallion and yes, the Scotch Bonnet pepper for that flavour



Do you remember that big aluminium pot that was only used on Saturdays?

For soup, whether its chicken feet

Red Peas soup with salt beef and soup bone

Green Gungo soup with salt beef and soup meat

Manish Water with goat meat or Fish tea soup

You had no choice in the matter not at age 9 or 10

You either had mom’s soup or go hungry

As you grew into a teen you found out that you did have a choice

To go on the road and buy fast food

With friends who were rebelling themselves

No more soups

It wasn’t macho to stay at home having soup when

All the community boys were going to Saturday matinee with their girls or so you were led to believe

Have you continued the tradition with your family now that you are all grown up?

Or have you thrown wind to that which has identified us as Jamaicans

What do you remember about your soup experience?

Which is your favourite soup?


waykam@yahoo.com

© 2013









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