“Soul Food” by Zali Lawrence

Fall 2025 Winner in Poetry

I want you to pour into me like sugar momma’s gravy
Explore all the hips and dips of this relationship
The same way you eat a neckbone
I want to love you, slow-roasted cooking in a crockpot all day

Kiss me at the breath of a baby’s back rib
For I will give my last to you at the taste of your sweet lips
Your tongue carves out the flavors of my sweet potato pie

Put me on the highest of levels so I can fuel your soul with the flavors of love
Seasoned into the heart, and I become one with your mind
Your words drip down my legs like fine wine
And baby, you are so divine

Hold me a secret like your grandmother’s family recipe
Lock me away into a bottle and never let the wrong one get a hold of me
Let the chocolate drip from my mouth as I pour my heart out to you
Wait for me impatiently like kids at the dinner table waiting on Thanksgiving day
Thank the lord for this super you have been yearning for

Touch my soul like the hot stove grandma told you to leave alone
Lock your eyes in the sight of my macaroni baked into your lungs
For you have finally found your glory

Wrap me up in foil and take me home
Lay me down and eat me up
And remember that this has become a different kind of love
Dress me up in all types of dressings
Cleanse my soul like you would do chicken

I will be the soul food you waited months for
And you will be the food to my soul that I have prayed for