This poem is a collaboration and was recited in Providence, Rhode Island at a workshop entitled “This Is What Love Looks Like.”
David:
Mary, Mary, quite communitary-
ian, how does your community
garden grow?
With some compost in a vacant lot,
that’s how our community
garden grows.
Christopher:
With community gardens/
The people won’t be starving/
Higher prices, the stores are charging/
What their putting in the food these days is alarming/
I am arming myself with the knowledge to grow my own/
Healthy food, community, and love in all U.S. time zones/
What else do we need: cleaner water and air to breathe/
David:
Mary, Mary, quite communitary-
ian, how does your community
garden grow?
With lots of hard work
in a vacant lot
and no empty lots
to mow!
That’s how our community garden grows!
Christopher:
Community gardens bring the people together/
Community gardens helps us eat and do better/
It’s a natural, holistic way to cooperate and be/
I open my door, walk outside, and join in unity/
David:
Mary, Mary, quite Unitary-
ian (Universalist), how does your
community garden grow?
With lessons in growing
and nutritious food, that’s how our
community garden
grows.
Christopher:
We’re talking tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, and greens/
Planting, nurturing, and growing those nutritious things/
We attend potlucks and farmer’s markets seeing our neighbors/
The food is good whether we eat it now, or save some for later/
The farm to table movement is what we can once again enjoy/
The youth in my city are growing food, becoming employed/
For this way of life, there is no harm or no pressure/
We can use this knowledge and love for the land to end food deserts/
David:
Mary, Mary, quite communitary-
ian, how does your community
garden grow?
Buy into our CSA
-Community Supported Agriculture!-
that’s how our
community garden
grows.
© Rev. Dr. David Breeden and Christopher D. Sims
June 4, 2014
Reprinted with permission from the authors.
Photo: College of Agriculture Communications’ photograph of an Atlanta garden taken during an October 2011 Urban Ag Tour. (April Sorrow/CC/Flickr)
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