Crème Vichyssoise Glacée: It's Easier Than It Sounds--Oui, Louie?

Earth food, dirt food, rugged
root food: leeks and potatoes--
boil them together & puree & hey!
they don a celebrity nom de potage--
crème vichyssoise glacée. True,

it holds much salt and white pepper,
and of course a dash of thick cream,
with a sprinkling of chopped fresh
chives atop, bright green confetti.

Louis Diat hauled his Maman's
recipe to New York in 1910 but
didn't spring on the Ritz-Carlton guests
til 1917. Cold soup. But if you warm it
up on a chill Fall day, who would know?

hans ostrom 2023

Good Cover

Palest green spider, color

of vichyssois, a droplet of fog
with 8 legs: it was under one
of my garden shoes outside.

Kicked out of its room,
it walked a while in that
hovering, syncopated way,
always amazing.

I put the shoe on and wished
the spider well, hoped it would
reach dirt and plants--good
cover--soon.

hans ostrom