Marking 20 years
of bold journalism,
reader supported.
Culture
Health
Food

Picnic

The first course in our Thanksgiving season series on food and life is a poem.

Alisa Gordaneer 3 Oct 2018TheTyee.ca

Alisa Gordaneer grew up in Victoria and worked as a newspaper reporter. She teaches journalism at Vancouver Island University and writes and teaches poetry.

Bring the bottles of wine from the cellar, reds
and whites forgotten under dust. Bring the
glasses, too, rubbed clean with linen. Bring love.

Bring the olives, slick with salt and oil,
the taste of hot days far away. Bring the
artichokes, asparagus, avocadoes, everything from the beginning

and bring the creamy brie, the creamy blue, the creamy skinned
camembert knowing it will stick on my face.
Bring the beginnings of conversations, bring

the cloth we’ve carried since the first
day of marriage, the gift meant to be spread
on grass, sand, unfurled like a flag. Bring it

because we haven’t used it in years, bring the wrinkled
fiber and the faded roses
and the fraying edges.

Bring these small things, and bring the intent to lie
on this green hill and tell me, again, with water and wine that you will
bring bread, too —

and yams, and zucchini.
And if you can’t bring food,
bring love.

In the days before Thanksgiving, The Tyee is running pieces about food and life excerpted from Sustenance, edited by Rachel Rose, Anvil Press, 2017. Proceeds from sales of the book help support refugee families in B.C. “Picnic” first appeared in Still Hungry, by Alisa Gordaneer, Signature Editions, 2015.  [Tyee]

Read more: Health, Food

  • Share:

Facts matter. Get The Tyee's in-depth journalism delivered to your inbox for free

Tyee Commenting Guidelines

Comments that violate guidelines risk being deleted, and violations may result in a temporary or permanent user ban. Maintain the spirit of good conversation to stay in the discussion.
*Please note The Tyee is not a forum for spreading misinformation about COVID-19, denying its existence or minimizing its risk to public health.

Do:

  • Be thoughtful about how your words may affect the communities you are addressing. Language matters
  • Challenge arguments, not commenters
  • Flag trolls and guideline violations
  • Treat all with respect and curiosity, learn from differences of opinion
  • Verify facts, debunk rumours, point out logical fallacies
  • Add context and background
  • Note typos and reporting blind spots
  • Stay on topic

Do not:

  • Use sexist, classist, racist, homophobic or transphobic language
  • Ridicule, misgender, bully, threaten, name call, troll or wish harm on others
  • Personally attack authors or contributors
  • Spread misinformation or perpetuate conspiracies
  • Libel, defame or publish falsehoods
  • Attempt to guess other commenters’ real-life identities
  • Post links without providing context

LATEST STORIES

The Barometer

Do You Think Naheed Nenshi Will Win the Alberta NDP Leadership Race?

Take this week's poll