Soup should be heralded with a mellow horn,
Blowing clear notes of gold against the stars;
Strange entrees with a jangle of glass bars
Fantastically alive with subtle scorn;
Fish, by a plopping, gurgling rush of waters,
Clear, vibrant waters, beautifully austere;
Roast, with a thunder of drums to stun the ear,
A screaming fife, a voice from ancient slaughters!
Over the salad let the woodwinds moan;
Then the green silence of many watercresses;
Dessert, a balalaika, strummed alone;
Coffee, a slow, low singing no passion stresses;
Such are my thoughts as — clang! crash! bang! — I brood
And gorge the sticky mess these fools call food!
(Stephen Vincent Benet)
More Poetry from Stephen Vincent Benet:
Stephen Vincent Benet Poems based on Topics: Gold, Food, Coffee- Army Of Northern Virginia (Stephen Vincent Benet Poems)
- Difference (Stephen Vincent Benet Poems)
- 1936 (Stephen Vincent Benet Poems)
- Campus Sonnets: Return - 1917 (Stephen Vincent Benet Poems)
- Campus Sonnets: Talk (Stephen Vincent Benet Poems)
- Campus Sonnets: Before An Examination (Stephen Vincent Benet Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Gold Poems, Food Poems, Coffee PoemsBased on Keywords: blowing, silence, fish, bars, subtle, passion, singing, moan, notes, horn, thunder