(for Amy Goldman)
We gardeners, farmers, cooks and eaters
wish to affirm our sacred vows
to steward, love and serve
the astonishing diversity of food crops
and their ferment of cultures here on this earth,
through our wounded-ness and in health,
in times of crisis and in times of joy,
to sow the seeds of food justice,
to glean the fruits of food security,
to distill the wild brews of food democracy,
to savor the flavors of true food sovereignty,
through our own actions and our own eating patterns
so that we may all eat what we have heartily sown.
We hereby renew our covenant with this earth
to humbly become one more way that seeds themselves
regenerate into more seeds to nourish all of us.
Now go out to love one another, to sow,
reap and feast in peace.
from the book
Sown by Hand: Aflorisms, Poems and Prayers for Seeds,
published by The Canelo Project
and presented on the 33rd anniversary of
Seed Banks Serving People