BUY THE BANANAS

I wrote a little poem.  

Before I share it with you, let me give you the back story.  A couple of weeks ago, I went to a grief support group.  (No, this is not going to be a description of my grief.  Stay with me for a minute.)  There was an older man in the group who had clearly given up.  He told us that his wife had died three years ago, and, although he did not suggest that he was ill, he stated that he didn’t think he would live much longer.  He declared, in a morose attempt at humor, that he was not sure whether he should buy green bananas because he might not live to eat them. 

 

“Oh,” I said.  “Buy the bananas.”  Then, I went home and wrote these lines.

 

 

Buy the bananas 

Watch them ripen

Make banana bread

Take it outside

Savor its warm sweetness

Under the shade of a tree

Think of your sorrows

Think of the gift of taste

 

If you find

You are still here

When the bread is gone

Buy more bananas

Watch them ripen

Make banana pudding

Share it with a neighbor

Tell her your sorrows

Listen to hers

Sit in silence

 

Wait for Spring

Plant some seeds

Water them with your tears

Watch them grow 

Show a little faith

Plant a tree

 

Go to the beach

Build a sandcastle

The sea will take it

Build it anyway

Build a life

Death will take you

Build it anyway

May we all have faith enough to buy the green bananas.  May our sorrows not keep us from living as fully as we can for as long as we can.

 

                                Photo by Deen Md. on Unsplash