<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr">Grace<div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(52, 52, 52);"><span style="font-kerning: none"> </span></p><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">Though the world is dented and dinged</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">and scuffed and scorned,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">we trim the beans and peel the potatoes,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">and the kitchen is warm and full</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">of laughter. We hum as we work</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">and break into scraps of song.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">All day our hands are joyful</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">as they prepare the meal to come.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">There are wars and battles even now,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">not all of them fought with guns,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">some waged intimately in our thoughts,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">our scraped up hearts. And still,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">this scent of apple pie, sweetening</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">as it bakes, this inner insistence</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">that love is not only possible,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">it is every bit as real as our fear.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">Whether the host has brought</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">out his best wine and his best crystal glasses</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">or water in chipped clay cups,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">there is every reason</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">to be generous, to serve not only</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">our family, our friends, ourselves,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">but also those we don’t yet know how to love</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">and those parts of ourselves we</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">have tried to keep separate.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">Tonight the host has hidden bait</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">in the dinner—we all are caught.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">Scent of sage, scent of mushrooms</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">and cream. The bite of cranberry.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">Never mind the potatoes cooked too long.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">Blessings seep into all the imperfect places,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">even if you can’t name the blessings—</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">consider them secret ingredients.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">The point is not to understand the feast,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none">but to eat, to eat it together.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 22px;"><span style="font-kerning: none"></span><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>- Rosemerry Trommer</span></div></div></div></div></body></html>