Container Kingdom

Container Kingdom

J.A. Baker

This world is full of borrowed containers,
plastic, ceramic, glass waiting to be returned
to owners, cleaned and emptied of meals.

How many containers are there and
how many people without borrowed ones?
What is the ratio of containers
to empty fridges? Is it changing?

Is it following the sun passing half circle
everyday front window to back
and will it set into abundance?

Glory! Glory!
There are leftovers in the fridge
and I saved you a plate.

Hannah brought figs and cream,
Sonye has a bag of grapefruits,
Abdel said the persimmons are ripe,
soon the root vegetables will be in;
soup for us all! The biggest pot,
innumerable bowls, mugs for coffee,
four o’clock gloam, oh the evening is wonderful.

We’re borrowing tubberware,
we’re stopping at thrift stores,
we’re saying thank you.

This is our pomegranate doctrine
with an aromatic liturgy:
it’s winter and we’re every nation holding hands.
It’s winter and we’re inviting our neighbors.
It’s cider abounding! It’s wine overflowing!
O come to the oven, there is more than enough.

We must find more containers for filling,
to sing the sun’s movement, to watch it setting
and overstuff every twilight-sky stomach
until the hunger is gone,
until the hunger is gone.

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J.A. Baker
Writer & Poet

J.A. received her MA in English from UMass Boston and is a recipient of their David A. Kennedy Prize for poetry.

Photography by Latrach Jamil