'Twas two days before Christmas and all through the house
I fretted and grumbled and started to grouse
Family was coming, they'd need to be fed
What would I make, did I have enough bread?
With lists in my pocket and visions in mind
I went to the porch to see what I'd find
And there on the table in bags and in crates
Lay the fixings for meals that would fill all our plates
Carrots squash onions, spinach and beets
Potatoes sweet and gold, kale and leeks
Apples and garlic, thyme and rosemary
Bread from a friend and jams of raspberry
Down in the freezer, chicken beef and some pork
Pull out the wine, pop open the cork!
Now gathered at table, we toast bountiful yields
Nurtured and harvested with love from our fields
By maria buteux reade, 2017