HYMN OF HEALING AND REGENERATION
Editor’s Note: The years after the outbreak were difficult years in Vine. The residents couldn’t know it, but the Great Depression affected them, too. Being cut off from the rest of the world does not mean you don’t exist in the world. Christine gave me this to include in the book, saying the recipe is known to have originated in the 1930s. With whom did it originate? How can Christine be sure of the time period? Ask Christine, maybe you’ll have better luck than me.
The gift of the aloe plant. Crushing turmeric root with garlic cloves. In the night, an unheard wind and the knowledge that tires are crunching over gravel elsewhere. Here is a more natural portion of Earth. Nocturnal animals mark with a chip on the bark of an ever-shifting Poplar in the middle of the forest the exact point midnight turns the day over. They do this thoughtlessly. Soon there will be a need for new construction. Soon, by necessity, a higher crop yield. Better growth season. The dead repay their trespasses by composting the soil. Mortar and pestle, grinding black peppercorns and parsley. Kettle boiling. Stir in honey.
after a winter of decay and flaked skin
grinding gears on train cars
the hospital expands the maternity ward