The Day After

I made a leek and potato soup
the day after, prompted by the look
of the peeled potato going soft
in a glass of water by the sink.
Beyond the back door, drizzle
and the raw morning air argued for soup,
added their weight to the nod of the knife
slicing the leeks, wrapped up in themselves,
into logs, into rings – whites, yellows and greens –
that I agitated till they came clean
in a bowl of cold water and set
simmering with the potato in stock
I'd thickened with flour, sprinkled with dried
herbs – rosemary, thyme – and startled
with a splash of leftover wine.
We had it for lunch, liquidised
with the top of the milk and heated through
and though I dare say you didn't notice
the taste, you ate it. It's sometimes too soon
to speak about things, but you've got to eat.

Michael Laskey, from The Tightrope Wedding (Smith Doorstop, 1999)