Learning from Soup

My friend Lilly, from Australia, recently posted about Astasia Dubrowski, an amazing 84 year old Australian woman of Polish descent, who , for the last 28 years has been single handedly running a Soup Kitchen at the Canberra Ciy Centre, to feed the hungry and have-nots, every Friday, getting up at 4 am, to cut 150 kgs of veggies, and she stands there, week after week, ladling out soup, stressing the vegetarian aspect. Alone in her old age, read about it here :





Flavoured
by the sharp onion,
the cooperative tomato,
unbending carrots,
she stirs in
the pungent green peppers
as the dawn sun
peers
across the Canberra sky.




Errant clouds
hanging around
to see the soup,
are politely
pushed,
for the day
must dawn
clear and warm
and full of hope.

Just like
Stasia's Soup,
a wonderful
orchestra of veggies,
bringing hope and warmth
to some of us
lonely souls,
all so worried about
me, me and me.

Like the carrot
said to the pepper,
"we're not so great
by ourselves,
but in Stasia's soup
we bring out the best
when we stay together...."