In the Shadow of the Manna

Your seeds were sown for others,

but I will take your crumbs –

vacuous, hollow,

I seek something, anything, to fill this cavernous pit.

One smile is feast, one glance food for thought

for filling full the months of famine.

Cursed I am, to desire your mite,

atomic particles of comfort worn thin,

scraps of bone and sinew to gnaw

against this insatiable hunger.

Dare I for true Bread,

whose fortunes fed on fickle?

Malnutrition mocks;

distended belly blunders on

in the shadow of the Manna…

*

How often I have gorged myself on what will never satisfy, when the Bread of Heaven is readily available!

Lord of the Gathering

Turkey and dressing and cranberry sauce,

gravy, potatoes, and helpings of pie;

turnips and salads and cinnamon floss

to deal with the bits that your teeth trap inside.

Saying a blessing with heads bowing low,

family gathered in bustle of noise;

giving our thanks for the blessings heaped high

on hearts’  inner platters, and counting the joys

of harvest and hearth-side, of  food in the bin;

O Lord of the gathering,

we usher You in!

*

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends!