Canned

I haven’t seen a Campbell’s can for decades,
with its boring, old-fashioned label. When I think
of all those tomatoes that were crammed inside,
I wonder if they‘re out of date, whether they stink,
if there’s mould on top, if they have dried
out, shrunk, drained of bloody red to anaemic pink
spotted with bits of blue and green. Anyway,
if he could see it now, what would Andy say?

Kim M. Russell, 22nd November 2020

Andy Warhol: Campbell's Soup Cans and Other Works, 1953–1967 | MoMA

For Poets and Storytellers United Writers’ Pantry

This weekend I’m sharing a poem I wrote for an ekphrastic writing challenge but didn’t make the editor’s pick. 

35 thoughts on “Canned”

  1. Campbell’s soup is alive and well in Australia, though the condensed tomato does have a more attractive label than that these days (but still a fairly simple one). It’s my comfort food, because that was what my Mum used to give me when I was little, if I was sick in bed.

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    1. I’ve not been a fan of tinned tomato soup since childhood, when my mother served up what must have been a very old tin – it tasted tinny. My favouirite these days is homemade butternut squash or carrot and coriander,

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      1. That detail is so peculiar, Kim. I say peculiar because since my first chemotherapy cycle, I haven’t been able to eat anything out of a can without tasting the medal–it’s quite gross. Also, my favorite soup since is homemade kabocha squash soup with roasted nuts.

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  7. Hehe Moral
    oF A Longer
    Story
    Some
    Folks Stay
    Still Rather
    Condensed
    Others Ever
    Expand THeiR
    Big Bang And
    Create
    An
    Entire
    UNiVeRSE
    Breathing
    Without
    Haiku
    Haibun
    And Kung Fu
    Restraints… Nope…
    Fredku Fredbun
    And Fred Fu
    Color
    My Ever
    Eternally
    Expanding
    UNiVeRSE Now Fu😜

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  13. I have never cared for canned anything. I’ve always thought that most vegetables one gets out of a can taste… funny. The same goes for soups. And my feelings about the whole thing didn’t get more favorable after a read a book (or three) about the commercial canning process. The preservatives needed to keep things like tomato soup leave a lot to be desired.

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  15. Have to admit my shelves contain Campbell’s soups, most cream soups used in recipes. I do love the cream of tomato with a grilled cheese sandwich! (I think chemo does change one’s taste, Magaly).

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  17. Luckily I had a wife that was brought up in WW2 (as I was too) when so much home cooking was instilled on us both. Thousands of tin cans as refuse being just waste on refuse heaps is a horrible thought,

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