TRIBUTE TO A FARMER
Barbara Goodjoin © 2018
Today, I am eating the greens,
eating the greens sowed and reaped
by backs bent under the sun.
I taste the love that drove the beating heart.
The heart that powered the hands and feet and mind
that plowed the earth
and dropped the seed
pushing the dirt that gave birth
to the food that gives the nutrients
that I need to live.
Having exchanged smiles and words of praise
for God who blessed us both
with each other,
I give thanks for
beans, and tomatoes
greens and melons
carrots and fruit
brought forth in due season…
I thank you for the love, the toil, the satisfaction.
I thank you for the dedication, the early hours, the late days.
I thank you, God, for the sun and the rain
I thank you for the woman, child, and man
Who continues to bless us all with
food from the land.
.
.