Nourished

(Red Cardinal in Central Park – Photo: Na’ama Yehuda)

 

There was naught

That she needed

But a path

And some green

And a burbling stream

And wide sky

Overhead.

 

So she felt deeply nourished

By the flowers,

And the gift of bird

Who landed by her feet

To share

Her burden

And bread.

 

 

 

For the dVerse quadrille poetry challenge: stream

 

Small Staple

Hubeza2 NaamaYehuda

Photo: Na’ama Yehuda

 

Small and humble,

It fills bellies,

When there’s no

Choice of grain.

The green leaves,

The tiny fruit,

Pantry for

Times of pain.

 

 

 

For the Sunday Still’s challenge: #Close and #Green

 

 

Tacked On

whitewashed-mill-in-mist-cp CrispinaKemp

 

The house was there first. Small and determined, it huddled against constant winds, braved the sun, stood fast through raging dust-storms and the terror of lightning.

Years passed. The land yielded. The silo was built. A practical thing, meant to store the grain in. However, tacked on as it was, snug into the back wall of the cabin with nary a breath of space between, it also contained hope. It held the promise for winter stews and for bread rising in the oven even long after the growing months had gone and there was little sign of nascent greening, let alone of next harvest’s ripening.

The silo became another sturdy thing to be led home by. There when ice rode in and clouds breathed snow and the cabin was too lonely in the vastness of being. Together they formed a home. An oasis of nourishing.

 

 

For Crispina’s Crimson’s Creative Challenge

 

The Essentials

 

Finally.

She shrugged her pack off and lowered herself so her back rested against a tree, blessing — for the umpteenth time — the waterproofs she’d splurged on several years ago.  The purchase had meant giving up puddings for two months, but she’d never regretted the trade-off.

Food was essential, but so was heeding nature’s call for spending time in the outdoors. It was required nourishment for her soul.

In any weather, no matter damp or cold.

Soon she’d make the tent, gather wood, and light a fire to cook her oats on. But first she just sat, filling her lungs with air and her mind with calm contentment.

Raised in the city, she didn’t know how hungry she was for the outdoors until friends invited them to join a camping trip. She was ten.

Her parents hated every minute of it. For her, it had been like finally finding home.

 

 

 

For Crimson’s Creative Challenge #52

 

In These Hands

cherrypicking SmadarHalperinEpshtein

Photo: Smadar Halperin-Epshtein

 

In these hands

Is held the future,

Made of blooms

That kept their oath.

In these hands

Is held the fruit of

Sun’s long labor,

Fed by rain

And nature’s growth.

In these hands

Is cupped the sweet taste

Of confection,

And the marvel

That is bounty

And is beauty

And is both.

 

 

 

For Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Hands

 

 

Be Like Cabbage

cabbage AmitaiAsif

Photo: Amitai Asif

 

“Be like a flower,” she said,

Wrinkles creasing like sun

‘Round her eyes.

“Be like cabbage, too!”

And she laughed

At my confusion and

Touched a calloused hand

To my cheek

For the umpteenth loving time.

 

“Bloom alone does not fill stomachs,”

She explained

And the years without

Flickered sad behind her smile

But did not interfere.

“Cabbage blooms as pretty as any,

Yet unlike most who wilt

At summer’s end,

It will hold goodness at the ready

To nourish you through winter.”

 

“Be like a flower, then,” she smiled.

“And like a cabbage, too.

For it will sustain you:

Bland or spiced or hot or cold

Until the snow melts

And you have lived to a new spring

And can, one day, grow old.”

 

 

For Cee’s FOTD challenge

 

Broken Whole

grindstone base AtaraKatz

Photo: Atara Katz

 

As the cracked places show

Marks of toil

Disavowed

And the grooves of grain passed

Whisper tales of

Repast

Broken pieces reflect

Wholeness more than

Regret.

 

 

For The Daily Post

Edible Blessing

904913_10200416705312966_11255660_o

Prickly Pear; Photo: A. Asif

 

May you find ample nourishment

In unforeseen places

And may your palate discern

True potential

Even amidst

Prickly spines.

May the sun warm your heart

Like a rain in the desert

To ripen fruits so refined

That they feed

All your needs

And your soul

Once again

Realigns.

 

 

For The Daily Post

Lush Life

May you live life lushly.

May new life, both the organized and the wonderfully wild,

Find purchase in your soul

To grow

And feed

Your whole.

 

orly-fuchs-galchen-dalia-feb2017

Orly Fuchs Galchen @ Dalia, Feb 2017

This photo of contrasting verdurous fields is by my wonderfully talented childhood friend and artist Orly Fuchs Galchen. (We’ve known each other since 6th Grade!)