sugar and spice

Thank God for spice
and all things nice!

If you hadn't given us roots, shoots and leaves
to munch and ruminate on,
to smell and meditate on,
our monochrome world would groan in frustration,
at the scarcity of gracious, lavish taste.

I can't imagine life without curry,
or fruit cake,
or custard tart, vanilla icecream, rosemary lamb, preserved lemon tagine, salsa verde, lemon thyme chicken, sweet chai, cayenne pepper or Moroccan sweet potato soup!

I would pine and die
if all I had to eat
was tasteless gruel,
or strawberry fool,
without the strawberries,
biscuits,
or vanilla cream.

We'd be the fools
if we weren't thankful
for every delicious bite you bless us with.

The story of spice, a classic tale
of the folly of human sin.

Delicious, vital, precious treasures,
belonging to no one,
shared by all,
until capitalism,
companies,
industry,
slaves,
turned garden plants into commodities,
wasted lives, lands, luxuries,
turning nutmeg bitter with blood,
spoiling cinnamon with slaughter...

I cry out for the redemption of sugar and spice!
I look forward to the lush gardens of paradise,
where cardamom and basil grows side by side,
in verdant pleasure
for the glory of your majesty.

Amen!