Chicken Soup--By Jim Teeters--United States

Chicken Soup

I’ve boiled the bones of 

baked and eaten chicken

                now cooled

reach into the pot

peel away the meat-remains

notice the intricacies of these 

                softened bones

woven together from a gooey

inner egg, grown into this

                marvelous creature

with brain enough to have known

how to live the chicken-life

                we’ll eat

                at suppertime

this God-created creature

                delicately formed

turned into tasty, healthy soup

                for our living

for this it died--

                our yummy gratitude

Jim Teeters has published poetry in several anthologies. He conducts poetry workshops for children and adults and is active in poetry readings in the Seattle area through the Striped Water Poets. He is the author of six poetry collections and the book, Teach with Style, (ASTD Press July 2013). Jim is a retired social worker living in Kent, Washington.