Yesterday Evening

Summer swallows swooping,
Perform an intricate dance,
Meeting midair,
parents beak to beak with adolescent offspring
slip them succulent morsels of mozzies.

As the evening sun slips away
Landscape that was bleached straw
Now is drenched in golden honey.
Sacred Ibis in V formation
Wing purposefully overhead.

The heat wanes.
Sprinklers release the scent from the baked earth,
mercifully slaking the parched grass.
The cricket chirrup resonates incessantly
Harmonising with frog song.

Children in short pyjamas
asleep under mozzie nets
the fan twirling industriously above.
Doors and windows agape
To ensnare the evening breeze.

St Francis' Day

Corey's post today told me it was St Francis' Day. She posted one of his beautiful prayers, which reminded me of part of another one that we used for our Spring Festival. It perfectly expresses what our festivals are all about - a reverence for the Earth and all its elements, inextricably linked with the Divine.

St Francis' Prayer

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
And fair and stormy, all the weather's moods,
By which you cherish all that you have made.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Water,
so useful, lowly, precious, and pure.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
Through whom you brighten up the night.
How beautiful he is, how joyful! Full of power and strength.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Earth,
Who feeds us in her sovereignty and produces
Various fruits and colored flowers and herbs.


I also wanted to share with you the Spring Blessing, that we all contributed to that day. Almost everyone wrote a couple of lines from the heart, some in Afrikaans and some in German too. Not intended as great poetry, not always rhyming or even scanning but it expressed something precious to each of us.


Our Spring Blessing


We give thanks for the winter rain
And all the blessings it brings

Blessings on the coming of Spring

For daisies brightly beaming
For berries ripely gleaming

Blessings on the coming of Spring

For thermals upward swirling
And wind chimes gently twirling

Blessings on the coming of Spring

We give thanks for the growing
And all the delicious rewards of our sowing

Blessings on the coming of Spring

Giving thanks for light and new earth life
Assurance of the universe`s constant love

Blessings on the coming of Spring

Sagte lente son en ligte briesie
Bring lewe, groei en nuwe visie

Blessings on the coming of Spring

For children smiling
Knowledge, experience with love entwining

Blessings on the coming of Spring

For the beauty of the night and the comfort of the day
The care of the spirits who guide us on our way

Blessings on the coming of Spring

For Suikerbossie Farm: for its beauty and its grace
The gift that lets us minister to our sacred space

Blessings on the coming of Spring

For the gift of new life
And the ending of strife

Blessings on the coming of Spring

Fuer die Blumen die bluehn in den Wieswn so gruen
Fuer all die Freunde die sich um uns bemuehn

Blessings on the coming of Spring

For moments to be still…

Blessings on the coming of Spring

Fuer Frieden in allem,Gesundheit und Glueck
Fuer ein Leben in Freiheit fuer jeden ein Stueck

Blessings on the coming of Spring

We ask for blessings on this new season,
May new beginnings and new projects be fruitful
New homes and new faces welcoming
May new paths lead us ever on to grow

Blessings on the coming of Spring

Blessings on all of us here
And all those our hearts hold dear.

Embroidery with Words

Corey’s posts at Tongue in Cheek, often release an outpouring of words in my head. This post of hers, combined with this one, with Cat's beautiful quilted art, that she linked to, mulled around my mind for a few days then this poem appeared on my screen. I thought I'd share it, though it's neither food nor family.

Embroidery with Words

Silks sewn
Beads glistening
Gold thread
A patchwork planet
Of hope.

Quilt
Optimism
Into its seams
Look
For the Angels
Watching
Over your dreams.

Embroider flowers
With bright silks of love,
Strew them as you go.
Let the hearts of others
Find the peace of your art
Comforting
Telling them
They are not alone.

Silver linings
Shot through with gold
Rainbows unfurling
Stories untold
Unpick the chain stitch
Reshape into flowers
Free from their fetters
And we from ours.

The stuff of life
Lived a thousand times
Worn in places
Torn, in holes
Made beautiful and new
With rich fabric from our hearts
Joined seamlessly with care and love
A new design
Stronger, more meaningful
Than before.

by Kit 2006