Picking Blueberries at 3 Birds—A Summer Poem

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[This week we’ll be saying goodbye to summer with three summer-themed poems I wrote during the summer.]

Picking Blueberries at 3 Birds
by Caleb Coy

I bring my son for the first time
To pick berries from the vine
Thirteen months old, he grabs them
By the handful
Out of the bucket
And off of the ground.

Clustered like grapes
They twist and pull
and fall into our buckets lightly.

Hand in hand we walk
Through the rows of the glade.
Among the gatherers
Among the Dutch visitors who came at dawn
In a cool June morning
When broke out the sun.

A belly full of berries
He rides on my shoulders
And gibber-gabbers
About sweet warm berries
In a perfect morning
Of a perfect day
The perfect day is pesticide free.
[For Noah]

Here is a link to 3 Bird’s Berry farm.

“I’m Prepared To Give My Life For This Or Any Country”—A Satire on Nationalism

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“I’m Prepared To Give My Life For This Or Any Country”—A Satire on Nationalism

“As a true patriot, I would gladly die in battle defending my homeland. I love my country more than my own life. But I would also be more than willing to give my last breath in the name of, say, Mexico, Panama, Japan, or the Czech Republic. The most honorable thing a man can do is lay down his life for his country. Or another country. The important thing is that it’s a country.”

The Rime of the Anglyng Touryst—A Summer Poem

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[This week we’ll be saying goodbye to summer with three summer-themed poems I wrote during the summer.  This first number, based on my fishing trip, is a parody of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.]

The Rime of the Anglyng Touryst
by Caleb Coy

It is an angling Tourist,
And he renteth a cheap rod.
“I’ve cut my shrimp in quarters.
Will I catch me a cod?”

Optimistic as the rising sun,
He casts out with a wink
(Because it’s all in the wrist,
Or so he’s been told to think).

He feels a little wiggle
He feels a little pull
“I think I’ve got a live one!
I’ve yanked him from the shoal!”

Alas, on pillars snagged—
It appears that when he cast
A wave brought his line inward
To the pier the hook held fast!

He gives a friendly wave
To a stranger down the pier,
Who knows what he is doing—
(That’s why he fishes here).

Then comes another tug—
“This time it is for real!”
A big knot he untangles,
But soon he’ll have his meal.

Perched above, a pelican—
Patiently it stares,
Chin tucked with the posture
Of a fasting saint in prayer.
[Dedicated to Charley Gwaltney]

A Church Divided—Confessions From a Millenial—Link

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A Church Divided—Confessions From a Millenial—Link

An honest millennial shares the struggles of growing up with know-it-all ignorance, swinging into know-nothing ignorance, and striving for the spiritual balance of theological confidence and humility.

Why We Like Duck Dynasty, and Why We Need More TV Like It

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It’s a family reality show that should not have happened, according to probability.  It would be hard sell, you see: A show about a duck call warehouse—no.  A show about a family that wears camo and beards all the time—no.  A show about a family that celebrates their faith and eats good food—no.  Producers might give such a family a 20-minute spot on some show about America’s unique families.  They look like Tolkien characters given rifles and Southern accents.  And yet someone saw the potential in giving the Robertson clan their own show.


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On Processing Chickens for the First Time

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Followers of the blog I just recently digested Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma.  Afterwards I embarked on my own Pollanesque eating experiment.  This past weekend I visited a friend’s farm where I processed chickens for the first time.

My friends, Eli and Amber, worship at my congregation and began selling chickens, eggs and vegetables to us a while back.  We decided to volunteer to help them process some chickens one afternoon, partly as a “thank you”, partly as a learning experience.  I felt like Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs, which is funny, considering he usually explores jobs most of us know nothing about or easily forget happen, and plenty of people slaughter chickens or know something of how it works.  I figured if I was going to really absorb this literature and echo the message of natural eating, I should experience more food raw preparation.  Since I hadn’t been able to catch, clean and cook a fish on my vacation, I should at least process a farm animal.
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How I Tried to Eat Like Michael Pollan in His Book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”

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In my blog series on Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma I digested the book, with an emphasis on the Christian perspective, as reader who is not an expert on nutrition, the environment, the economy, or agriculture.

Like Pollan, I also went on my own food adventure.  Mimicking his journey, I also decided to meditate on eating an industrial meal, a supermarket meal, a locally organic natural meal, and a wild meal.  I tried to mimic his as much as possible, but I didn’t have the time or the budget to match his precision with all four meals.  I tried, and for purpose of reflection and comparison.  There’s no point in reading a non-fiction book unless we incorporate it into action, and this sequence is the beginning of my action.
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