Saturday, April 07, 2012

Poem for Saturday and Watkins Regional Park

A Newborn Girl at Passover
By Nan Cohen

Consider one apricot in a basket of them.
It is very much like all the other apricots--
an individual already, skin and seed.

Now think of this day. One you will probably forget.
The next breath you take, a long drink of air.
Holiday or not, it doesn't matter.

A child is born and doesn't know what day it is.
The particular joy in my heart she cannot imagine.
The taste of apricots is in store for her.

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We needed to pick up Daniel to bring him home for Passover, so after lunch on Friday and posting a review of DS9's "Melora", we took Adam and drove into Prince George's County to Watkins Regional Park. We visited the Old Maryland Farm, which has many of the farm animals traditionally raised in this state -- chickens, sheep, pigs, cows, plus peacocks and an alpaca. Then we went to the nature center and saw the rehabilitated wildlife there (several turtles and snakes, plus outdoor cages with disabled raptors) and walked along the wetlands trail (frogs, butterflies) before heading to College Park to get Daniel.


















We celebrated the seder at my parents' house along with friends of theirs and the 95-year-old father of my mother's friend, which was very nice though I think they probably think my kids are crazy! I love the food, even the vegetarian versions, and I have no objections to a festival of freedom, but the Passover narrative sickens me on both a theological and a political level and I resent the traditional haggadah more each year. I do religion better alone in the woods than anyplace there's a formal liturgy -- I'm not even good at pagan blessings if there's anything absolutist in them! That said, have a lovely holiday weekend if you are celebrating any of the many at this time of year.

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