poem
Volume 23, Number 3

Occupy Philadelphia
← Kitchen

He said, There is
no recipe, we just use
whatever we have.
That's the great thing
about ratatouille.
Well what's in this
ratatouille, I asked.
Tomato, zucchini,
yellow squash, onion,
green and red peppers.
Did you use any spices,
I asked. Oh yes, he said.
Oregano, garlic, salt,
pepper. Did you use
a food processor, I asked.
At home, I would, he said.
But here we're making so much
that we chop it by hand instead.
That must have taken
a long time, I exclaimed. Oh yes,
he said, we started cooking dinner
right after breakfast. But we
got some extra volunteers
to help with the chopping,
so it didn't take too long.

I realize I've been fooled by the assumption
that some must endure scarcity
while others enjoy excess wealth.



—Declan Gould