The “Winnowing Winds”.

The “Winnowing Winds” are blowing

A change of tide is coming

Spring is bursting…

Rotund buds adorn every tree and bush,

swollen with the desire to unleash what’s inside.

 

Newborn lambs, on wobbly legs.

Bucking at the teat of their patient mothers.

Curious, strong and frail, all at the same time.

So are we, dependent on Him, yet independent,

with free will, ego and stubbornness.

 

Wild leeks explode from the ground, through detritus layers of decomposition.

The first spring food granted to us.

Pungent, fresh and bright green.

A flavor reminiscent of Summer,

In the resurrection that is Spring.

“And Allah has sent down rain from the sky and given life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness. Indeed in that is a sign for a people who listen.” 16:65

 

The Ramps are

Kindred to our own souls.

Stalwart

Thrusting through the earth.

Emancipated, and piquant,

Alluring and naive.

They arrive virtually just after the snow has melted away,

Before the tree leaves unfold to greet the sun.

 

There is something grounding

About a walk in the woods, with the mud at your feet

The sweet smell of musty leaves and wet earth.

 

When you find them you will know.

Two bright green leaves

With arms outstretched.

Facing the heavens, as if to greet their maker with gratefulness and awe.

 

There is something fulfilling

About finding these God given foods.

Wild foraging

When it’s still cold and damp.

When ones human mind cannot conceive that the earth might bring forth food at such an early point of spring.

 

That’s Al Razzaq.

The All Provider.

Providing for us where our human minds would not think to look.

At the time when we need it most.

 

As I nourish my body this spring, before the leaves and flowers in all their vibrant splendor arrive,

I cannot help but to notice how nature tells the story of the Quran right before my eyes…

                “By the (winds) that scatter broadcast;

                And those that lift and bear away heavy weights

                And those that flow with ease and gentleness;

                And those that distribute and apportion by

                Command

                Verily that which ye are promised is true;

                And verily Judgment and Justice must indeed

                come to pass.”       51:1-6

 

The spring wind gusts around me, carrying seeds and dust.

With my hands in the dirt

Foraging,

I cannot help but compare myself to the ramp

Using all of my energy to burst through the earth:

To claw my way through this Dunia.

 

Much like the life of a dandelion,

Bright yellow, vibrant and full of youth,

Our life here is fleeting.

One day our hair too will grow into a wispy white,

We must be mindful of the winds that blow.

We mustn’t wait for our old age to find piety.

You never know when the day will come.

The gust

That will set free the seeds.

“Scatter Broadcast”.

The day when you are risen alone.

With “no protection or helper”.

 

With arms outstretched,

I look up in awe

At the beauty of the sky.

I look down at the earth

The dirt we were fashioned from.

I revel in the sustenance granted by my maker:

The delicacy I cut from the ground.

 

There is something Humbling

About the nature of giving and receiving

About my hands in the dirt

About plucking my food from the earth

About the feeling of spring after a long cold winter

About the blessings we are surrounded with

That go unnoticed every day.

 

I kneel in the dirt

And turn my face to the splendor of the sky.

I close my eyes and smell the earth.

I silently Thank God for all of the beauty

All of the Blessings.

For the food I gather for my family.

For spring

For new beginnings

For being Al Razaaq.

Alhamdulillah I am forever grateful.

 

Note****Ramps aka. wild leeks are a wild onion found in the forests of Vermont in the spring before the tree leaves come out.  They can be foraged and harvested for about a month.  Also thank you to Maria and Ward Ogden for the beautiful visit we had with they and their lambs this spring.

• Alhumdulilah.
• Islam
• Origin
• Poetry
• Spring
• Vermont