GARLIC POETRY, by Jennifer (Jinks) Hoffmann

Close to the Ground

Creation theology…is interested in the nature of nature, and the nature of humanity, and the interplay between the two of them.
──Ellen Bernstein. p. 42
Creation Theology in New Jewish Feminism. Probing the Past. Forging the Future. Ed. Rabbi Elyse Goldstein All of it. The dried garlic stalks, brittle from the summer drought; the farmer in his khaki shirt, torn pants and cracked boots; the scurrying crickets we disturb as we unearth Israeli garlic bulbs, fat with life, despite the long, hot summer. Mandy, James and Ethan. Maybe particularly Mandy, with her shining eyes and sweetness, her quiet respect as she teaches her almost five-year old─ close to the ground, James. Pull the stalks close to the ground.

Jennifer (Jinks) Hoffmann 2nd August 2016