Arthur Godfrey, halfway through his radio show,
tossed aside the script, joked his sponsor’s soup
tasted like hot water strained through chicken feathers
Lost his sponsor, almost lost his job,
but kept his listeners laughing
As for that salty soup, it never fails to soothe a virus,
heals faster than most homemade broths I’ve sampled,
fills a house in a few minutes with comforting aromas,
more toothsome any day than the brine of a tough old hen
simmered for hours in a heavy steel pot
To all grandmothers and gourmets who sniff
at something new, something powdered,
something packaged,
something brewed in five minutes,
I say, good for the inventor of instant soup
To those who sell that soup,
I say, good for Arthur Godfrey