This poem was sent to me some time ago by my friend Joan. I think it is particularly apt at Thanksgiving, because in the midst of the merrymaking, we need to remember the sacred bond that links us: food, and cooks, and eaters, all part of something much bigger than ourselves.
Blessed be the Creator
and all creative hands
which plant and harvest,
pack and haul and hand
over sustenance--
Blessed be carrot and cow,
potato and mushroom,
tomato and bean,
parsley and peas,
onion and thyme,
garlic and bay leaf,
pepper and water,
marjoram and oil,
and blessed be fire--
and blessed be the enjoyment
of nose and eye,
and blessed be color--
and blessed be the Creator
for the miracle of red potato,
for the miracle of green bean,
for the miracle of fawn mushrooms
and blessed be God
for the miracle of earth:
ancestors, grass, bird,
deer and all gone,
wild creatures
whose bodies became
carrots, peas, and wild
flowers, who give sustenance
to human hands, whose
agile dance of music
nourishes the ear
and soul of the dog
resting under the stove
and the woman working over
the stove and the geese
out the open window
strolling in the backyard.
And blessed be God
for all, all, all.
—Alla Renee Bozarth
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Lovely poem!
ReplyDeleteBlessed be our friends who cook for us, or eat our cooking, or warm our table with their presence, or warm us by inviting us to their table, or who feed our children. And blessed be those who would rather skip the whole thing and go out for a hike in the desert, even if they are grumpy about it.
ReplyDeleteBlessed be the hikers, for they gotta eat too, eventually.
ReplyDelete