~ From afar,
The world watches

As you smile
As your energy provokes

One
After
Another
Gift,

One
After
Another
Friend

~ Is it you
Who carries The Message
or
The Message
That carries you?

~ Friends twining together
From across a city
From across a state
From across a nation

As you become
The Voice of Reason
of Friendship
of Love
of Food Lovers
of Workers Who Love Food

~ And I watch,
And every time I listen,
I wonder:

How
Did you
Get through
The Grief

To love
To bind
To give?

~ Is he in every one of us
Whom you’ve helped,
Whose lives you’ve saved
After he could not be?

~ I will tell you this:

You’ve saved my life
So many times
With just your ability

To smile
To live
To love
Again

And, somehow,
You
Still
Give

~ I cannot help but wonder
At your capacity

When The Truth
Of Love
Can be Tasted
In the result of a well-crafted dish

When I think of
How many dishes
You have salted
With the love
You have
Given

Despite
Grief

 

**An homage to Jen Heidenger of Giving Kitchen