Jake Jehlen Brown

Giant Bean Soup

To K.K.

We spend Tuesday nights together
and you always stress
over what to cook.

But I’ve solved our problem.
You can stop scrolling –
I’ve got it.

We will make
Giant Bean Soup.

I know.
Right away
you’re wondering,
“How exactly
did you get so smart, so
handsome?”
And I will –
I will answer you one day.

But what is
Giant Bean Soup?
How does one conquer
the
Giant Bean?

First you find one
Giant Bean.

Think
the size of a prize melon
but a bean.

Then you shove it –
really, be rough –
into an old pot
filled with new water.

Add salt
add salt

Now you set it
on the stove with the
heat just barely above
where you think
it ought to be
oughta sit
for the Bean.

Walk away.
Call your brother.
(You’ve been putting it off)
Rush back just before
it boils over.

Repeat for an hour
or however long it takes.
I don’t know.

Next lift the Bean and
mildly, but evenly
burn your hands.
Toss it overhead
to cool it
like you would
a child in a fit.

At the top
of the final toss
bring your palms down
on the top of that Bean.
Pull it to your knee
and crack it down the center –
give a hefty grunt.

Serve each half in
a small, yawning bowl
with vegetable stock
and moments from the day.
The later you start,
the more you have to choose from.
Finish with a slap of parsley,
comfortable conversation,
and that sudden split to
smooth spreading smile.