Rot Is a Recipe

Grapes just sitting in a jar, nothing special, nothing planned Then a yeast shows up, invisible, and gets to work by hand Eating sugar, breathing out a little fizz and heat Weeks later what was juice is something else complete

Rot is a recipe, older than the oldest chef Rot is a recipe, microbes did it first, we borrowed the rest Bread rises because something small breathed out a gas Cheese gets sharp because a culture got there fast

Milk left out goes wrong, unless it's guided right Guided right, it turns into yogurt overnight The same rot that ruins one thing, aimed with care Turns cabbage into something tangy, turns tea into a drink you'd share

Rot is a recipe, older than the oldest chef Rot is a recipe, microbes did it first, we borrowed the rest Coffee, chocolate, vinegar, the funk in a good cheese wheel All of it fermentation, all of it a tiny deal

Between us and something smaller than a speck of dust Trading their patience for a flavor that we trust Nobody invented this, we just learned to aim The oldest kitchen trick on Earth doesn't even have our name

Rot is a recipe, older than the oldest chef Rot is a recipe, microbes did it first, we borrowed the rest So raise whatever's fermenting, however small it began Something tiny did the cooking, long before we called ourselves the chef