Not Harvest Thanksgiving

I do so love harvest thanksgiving, That time of year which celebrates agriculture, When church flips from being god-centred, To remembering farmers and good food manufacture. It’s not an Armenian or Amish allusion, ‘Cos tins are given no problem; Natural remedies aren’t primed as better, Than medicines, to the mind and body superior. As a child who regretfully attended church, I thought on that day of poverty and Christian giving: That their offer was kind of a respectable food bank, A silent redistribution of wealth, income and living. No food bank is respectable, of course, But they can channel wealth efficiently and appropriately; And that the Church offers such for just one day, Should be celebrated as a positive sign most definitely. God is sometimes just such an abstraction, Academically, he’s for the objective mind; He’s not comforting when your needs are just so real: Physical, emotional, psychological: he can be so unkind. When you just need a meal on the table, And need it supplied by someone else, Whether by government, food bank or church, It’s a person that's there, not divine impulse. I thought it was moral to impose that on believers, As a kid who just so wanted to talk and shoot, About real mechanisms, real structures and methods, Which made life’s systems, dynamics, art and roots. Being grateful for food, diet and health, Eclipses salvation humility and responce; Eternal purpose lays as distant and non-tangible, To people and belongings which have an unimpeachable force. Farmers need to be remembered, given relevance, For their labour, dedication and sheer love of the job; It’s that occupation and training which ensures, Our basic daily needs are met not just with contours. The harvest basket every year means to me hope, Nourishment for those who starve and scrape; Church wealth rides so high and mighty on average, That this real examination is something to advocate.