A Love Feast
“We appreciate you.”
That’s what the card said.
A picnic-basket dinner:
enchiladas, beer, avocados,
beans, salad, sour cream,
and don’t forget dessert:
brownies with chocolate chips.
“We appreciate you.”
That’s what the card said.
Beneath the card,
Mixed, chopped, and stirred
was a feast of love.
Conceived in care.
Prepared with affection.
Delivered simply.
We ate.
We enjoyed.
And when no one was looking…
I cried.
Remembering…
A decade earlier,
There was another dinner,
For a family with a dying mom.
Conceived in care.
Prepared with affection.
Delivered simply.
When words fail.
Food speaks.
The secret ingredient?
Love.
When words fail.
Food speaks:
Volumes.
If you remember my Polish grandmother, my Baci (pronounced bachi)... she would stay with us and always, constantly baked and cooked, and so I learned the concept of: "love through food".
ReplyDeleteGreat thank you poem, Don! The emotions are easily conveyed in these lines. I like the phrase "conceived in care". Well done.
ReplyDeleteFriends that speak past words are friends worth keeping. What a blessing in a basket! (And quite the delectable menu, too!)
ReplyDeleteGreat poem! I love to think back at the comfort food we had growing up, when there wasn't enough money to eat. I think it was the "love" more than the food that kept us satisfied. Well done.
ReplyDeleteVisiting from septembermom's blog. :)
Hi Don! I left an award for you on my blog today :)
ReplyDeleteHi Don! Nice to meet you. Coming over for a visit from septembermom's blog. I loved your poem. Food is such a comfort and can always evoke such strong emotions and memories. Thanks for putting it so beautifully in your poem.
ReplyDelete@Dennis: Not only can food be edible art, it can be edible love.
ReplyDelete@September: Kelly, I'm glad you liked the poem and a special phrase with-in it. (Also, thanks for the award.) And thanks for the visitors coming my way from your blog. The community grows.
@Chase: "A blessing in a basket" -- you turn a good phrase! And where did I hang out during your welcome home party? Near the food: a love feast for Chase and his friends.
@Flory: This post has made me remember those who have cooked for me: wife, mother, grandmothers, girlfriends... "Man shall not live by bread alone..." As you point out, it's not just about the food, it's about the love. Thanks for visiting and commenting.
@Gerri: Thanks for comments. I was surprised by the memories and emotions evoked. I've often thought of comfort food as I grazed in the fridge, but "comfort food" has taken on new meaning for me now. (An epiphany to a man, obvious to a woman?)
Not always obvious to a woman...it's funny the things you don't realize until years and years into life. Here I thought loving through food only meant relieving the stomach.
ReplyDelete@Saphron: Good to know that it's not just male-patterned blindness.
ReplyDelete