The tossed salad
at our Soup Kitchen starts
with lettuce from the Community
Garden, planted by a Roma family waiting
to hear their refugee status, tended by 70 year old
David, who grew up on a kibbutz, harvested by the Sixth
Grade class from down the street, washed by Mrs. Singh,
recovering from a brain injury, dressed by Kaliyah,
a Med student who comes when she’s got a free
hour, shared by a family of the working poor
who swallowed their pride to come here
for the first time. They offer thanks
and ask about the garden.
And so it grows.

– Susan Whelehan