Bounty

In offering this poem, I am aware that many parts of the country are not experiencing the bounty of the late summer season for reasons of flood and drought and fire. My heart is with you in lament.

 Blessed be the crickets and katydids
    whose voices are a choir.

Blessed be the cicadas,
    their song the sound of summer.

Blessed be the bluebird fledglings,
    making their way in the world. 

Blessed be the groundhogs,
    fattening on windfalls before winter's long sleep.

Blessed be the bumblebees
   slipping through the lips of turtlehead blossoms.

Blessed be the goldfinches
   gleaning seeds from coneflowers and Susans.

Blessed be the ruby-throats
    feeding and fighting on their way south.

Blessed be the mistflower
    offering nectar to swallowtails and skippers.

Blessed be the winterberry
    providing for hungry birds.

Blessed be this late summer stillness,
    slack tide between the seasons.

Blessed are we
    who open to the bounty that surrounds us.

        

        

August's Blessing

 

When you are lonely,
may the garden's community enfold you.

When you are hungry,
may you know the provision of the hedgerow.

When you are thirsty,
may the long-awaited rains fall upon you.

When you are weary,
may the cool breeze's kiss be upon your cheek.

When you are apathetic,
may you know the Carolina wren's unflagging curiosity.

When you are anxious,
may the placidity of the wood turtle sustain you.

When you doubt yourself,
may the ruby-throat's tenacity inspire you.

When you are in darkness,
may the night-song of the katydid keep you company.

When you are dry,
may the dews of early morning refresh you.

When you are restless,
may you know the sweet apple's slow ripening.

When you grieve,
may you be held in companionship with the wild ones.

When you cannot find your voice,
may the constancy of the cricket's cadence grow within you.

When you have forgotten who you are,
may the Presence within all of life
bring you home to your own true self.