The travelers in the Stone Soup folktale creatively offer a share of the nourishment to come by inviting the townspeople to contribute whatever they can. This simple gesture dispels fear and forges connection. In a similar way, the cauldron of these inviting poems effortlessly blends ingredients both earthy and spiritual, jaunty and tender, compassionate and ecstatic. The poems wonder, take delight, grieve, and console, as they encompass generations of family and friends, and embrace a wide spectrum of cultures and traditions, to reveal heights and depths of our common humanity from fresh and surprising angles of vision.