A Grace of Thanksgiving

頂きます Itadakimasu (I humbly receive)

We are cooking
and talking about how some foods

require attention and care
while others are more forgiving.

When things blend easily,
everything flows.

Lasagna, for example, is forgiving,
and vegetable soup is very forgiving.

Pie crust, on the other hand,
is persnickety—

exacting and demanding—
the very definition of unforgiving;

but lasagna—it all just kinda melts together,
you know?

And just the thought of vegetable soup
simmering into its own savory sweetness

reminds me to savor every sweetness—
the soup of this meal, this company,

all of us, like lasagna,
here at this table.