I am caught within my own web
The waiting for the food continues
And all I can think about is snowplows
Flashing blue lights in Canada that won’t cross the border
It’s cousin pushing watery mud and stone along Mulholland
Metal on asphalt scrapes my ears
And my childhood returns
Lying in a cold room, warm beneath many mis-matched blankets
Hearing the gears change, the truck turning
I know which way it is pointed, which bank has grown
The lessening friction in my head points down the two lane road
I have seen a warm fire through the phone lines
In a glen I’ve never been
Huddled, cloaked and pondering
As naked as arriving souls are
The travelers warm themselves eagerly
The temperature is different at each seat
The weather overhead can not be agreed on
But that is not a prime concern
Allow me to show you inside
In a place where no structures exist
There is no more vulnerable shelter
In this glen or on this run
I am warm within you
You are touched by smiles
The food arrives without a platter
And we devour it without swallowing
It is soaked in through the skin
My ears fill with water
My eyes with light and heat
My mouth with only praise and love
My hunger drifts away
Brake bread with me, my brothers
Drink in it all, my sisters
Join me in thanks to the one who brings
Us all together now;
And say a prayer for the dirt
And say a prayer for the silt
And say a prayer for the dust
That someday we all will be
And say a prayer for all those
Who went before us selflessly
And say a prayer for all those
Who will follow in our drying footsteps
They are the ones who need it most
They are the ones who need the toast
They are the ones from our own loins
and our hearts and our minds
We are in awe of you.