How amazing is the raisin (a poem inspired by ‘mindfulness’)

How amazing is the raisin

in comparison to all of us.
It’s such a tiny fruit
but with steep hills
and dark valleys,
gorges and ravines
too, rugged and soft
like a volcanic island in the tropics,
seen from the air,
its sensual richness hidden
beneath the canopy.
And the skin of my palm can feel
the touch
of its highest mountains.

And when I’m raising the raisin
to my lips
I appreciate its sacrifice,
the generous cycle
of an offering of sustenance
in exchange for distribution
to an unknown place
and a fertile landing.

In appraising the raisin
in my mouth,
with my tongue, the tip
of my tongue
and the roof
of the front of my mouth,
I slowly roll it
and notice
how its cool roughness
warms and softens
as the raisin grows
and begins to release its
gentle sweetness
and the flavour of sun-baked afternoons
with the hot air stirring
and full of the scent of thyme,
rosemary and marjoram.

And as I start to squash
and break up
the now supplicant raisin
with my hard and merciless
front teeth, savouring
its gifts of energy
and taste and dreams
from lands afar,
and this moment in time
of pleasure
and exploration,
I feel guilt.

For all the other amazing raisins
which have just been
gobbled
and chomped
without thought,
without appreciation,
their richness ignored and forgotten.

And I wonder how life can be
if we take care
to notice
how amazing a raisin
can be
and
if that is true
for this tiny fruit,
what is possible
for such a gigantic and extraordinary organism
as a human being.

You
me
and all of us.
And all of us
together.
Noticing
ourselves
and each other.

with thanks to Alister Scott for his lesson in mindfulness.