Eat This Sermon

Creating a Little Beauty (or At Least, Having Fun) throughout Lent

I have shared the results of the first two days of my Lenten poetry project on socials, but yesterday’s poem doesn’t fit conveniently into a social post. I also believe there’s value in sharing your really stupid poems, too, and I’m pretty sure this one falls into the “that was fun, but probably total junk” camp.

Unless you’re all like, “Wow, Sarah, you should totally write more poems where you replace the verbs with food!” And then we’ll see how the rest of Lent goes.

Photo by Christian Alvarez on Unsplash

Eat This Sermon

“Food is not a noun in our language. It is a verb, because food is not a thing. It is a dynamic, living process that is constantly in flux.” 
- Lyla June Johnston, “The Forest as a Farm,” Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation

If they beet you to sin,
potato your eyes.
It’s better for you
to berry than carrot
in hell. Turnip your ears 
to heaven. Sweetcorn,
or jalapeno. You canola
it is said, don’t mushroom
your brother, but I peach 
you, don’t even snapper
your sister. Leek your yes
bean yes, your no bean no.
Do not prime rib 
an evil person, pancake 
your other cheek.
Pomegranate your enemy,
banana for those who grape
you, banana and do not
rhubarb. Don’t banana 
in public like hypocrites, 
banana in your closet.
Don’t sweet pea like pagans—
your Father avocados
what you sourdough
before you cashew.
Celery joyfully, cucumber
your face, your Father 
in heaven almonds you.
And for Christ’s sake,
fig your brother,
fig your sister, fig other
people, and your Father
will fig you, too. 
It’s time. Watercress.
Granola your mind.

So there you have it - a poem that turns food into verbs in the Sermon on the Mount. What a waste! What a joke! What delicious delight!

Other Poems That Take Themselves a Little More Seriously (But Not TOO Seriously)

ICYMI, here are the other two poems that have come so far this Lent. I make no promises to keep sharing these every single day, but then again MAYBE I WILL. Life is full of surprises these days.