A staff member of the Western Massachusetts Food Bank’s Brown Bag Program
asked me to write this poem for the Brown Bag Thanksgiving newsletter.
Thanksgiving For The Brown Bag Program
May our hearts be filled with gratitude
to all who play a role
in filling the brown bags with food for those
who want and need the food; gratitude
to the director, fund raisers, grant writers
truck drivers, the many volunteers; gratitude
to the grocery stores, the Food Bank, the State itself
and Father Robert for the Trappist Preserves.
May we give thanks for all the food–
cans of meats, stews, fruits and vegetables
loaves of bread, cookies, yams
and winter squash; rice and pasta,
carrots with their rich orange color
that delights the eyes and feeds the soul.
May we give thanks to Earth Herself
from whom all foods are harvested.
Thanks to sun and rain and snow,
and to the seasons serving life
in each and every change.
May we give thanks to all the trees
that once grey skyward,
majestic in their climb against the blue,
beautiful now in their humility
as plain and sturdy brown paper bags.
Copyright © 2003 Margaret Robison
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