Strawberries Forever

There is beauty in simplicity. To celebrate summer I had a strawberry, champagne and poetry garden party. I got the idea from a long distant memory of visiting my friend Nina in Finland twenty years ago. We spent an afternoon with her friends, sitting around a garden table eating strawberries and drinking champagne. I wanted to share that idea with my friends and family and create a unique memory.

I have long believed that our modern world of over connection, but not true connection can be tedious and that the beauty of simplicity has somehow been lost by the wayside. I wanted my guests to experience simple pleasures on a beautiful summer afternoon….the delight of the luscious strawberry, the color, the taste and the  idea that this early summer fruit is fleeting and should be enjoyed while its short season lasts. My little niece Gracie, age 4, got the idea brilliantly and ate a large bowlful! Exactly what I wanted! I also served a simple and inexpensive sparkling wine for the grownups and strawberry lemonade for the children….The ruby red color of the strawberries popped on the table and the champagne glasses sparkled. I adorned the table with ferns from Mom and Dad’s garden, and created bouquets of fresh herbs.

All of us brought poems to share. There were many beautiful moments, especially, my father being moved to tears whilst reading a poem from his childhood, “Excelsior” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I’m sure the meaning of the poem took on a different and more profound meaning for him reading it all these years later, the idea of the fragility of life… And, from the old to the young, my six year old nephew Liam, sharing a poem, “Spring” that he chose from a book that my parents gave us kids for Christmas in 1976.

 Sharing words can move us and take us to a place of deep emotion. Poetry is a neglected art, I think, because it requires effort to commune with words. It takes time. Sometimes poems can be elusive in their meaning and it feels like a code needs to be cracked. And, sometimes there can be a forthrightness in the author’s directness of an idea that grabs hold of us. Such is the poem that my sister Nora, a gifted poet, wrote and shared with us that afternoon:

Stardust

As parents
We see our children as miracles
It matters not
if you believe in God
You must simply

Believe in love

And if you are lucky
and see this miracle

a collection of stardust
and water
of cosmos
and the sea

of coursing blood
and dirt underfoot

and giggles
and cries
of heartbreak
and pride

joy,
perfection,
mistakes

And realize that it's not
just your child

but you too
are made from stars
and the sea

and the blood coursing
and songs singing
inside
and outside
of you

You too are the love

You too

are the miracle

We all had a wonderful time. We all created a unique memory, that won't soon be forgotten. Here's to you and the simple but memorable pleasures you partake in. Happy Summer!