Thyme

March 7, 2005

Ada

"Parsley, sage,
rosemary and thyme.."
each have I gathered
and tied off with twine,
between draughts of bitter
and sips of sweet wine.

Parsley I’ve sought,
yet comfort is scarce;
when found, is fleeting.
Small nosegays I bear
after searching the fields
through years of despair..

Sage is for strength,
found most often
while sifting spare gleanings,
left behind by those
who had no foresight
of the impoverished
who would follow
and seek..

"Parsley, sage,
rosemary and thyme.."
each have I gathered
and tied off with twine,
between draughts of bitter
and sips of sweet wine.

Rosemary; rarest of gifts.
Yet love was not hid
when need was most dire.
In that very hour
was revealed
her poignant truth.

Thyme.
What shall I say
of the courage to walk;
fortitude to breathe
when breath felt like death?
This I found, to my surprise,
as I sought desire to do
the thing which next was
set before my hands:

When opened I my eyes,
I found the fields of thyme
were yet uncut;
the harvesters had left those rows
in search of sweeter herbs.
I had but to make the choice
to pick; to tie; to place in my
tattered pocket; finally to learn:

Courage is naught except
volition toward the road
which fashions fear within one’s heart.

Between draughts of bitter
and sips of sweet wine,
each have I gathered
and tied off with twine:
"parsley, sage,
rosemary and thyme."

"Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme..." taken from "Scarborough Fair," an English folk song by an unknown author, but performed by many; most noteably, Simon & Garfunkel.

Parsley is for comfort; sage, for strength; rosemary, for love; and thyme, for courage.