A Poem for the Harvest Season: "Redemption"

During the last few years, I've been writing a poem each day and posting it on Facebook. Most of my poems are celebrations of natural beauty; a few are ethical/political commentaries with some bite.

You can see more poems by visiting my new Facebook page.

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Redemption

©2022 Rev. Ted Tollefson

At some point, the harvest is over:
a last plum or peach is picked
a last batch of wild blackberries is found
and the last blueberries are gathered
by hands that say "thanks" in blue and purple.

Then what?
then the real work begins
of cleaning, cooking, and canning
so that jars of compote, jam, and jelly
can sweeten our path towards next spring
when the mystery of new life begins again.

How great and lovely is this work!
to pick, cook and preserve
distilling life's nectar in a jar or in words
to carry us through darker days and colder nights—
one jar, one blessing at a time.