WAY BACK THEN

 When I was a kid I remember
 my family going over to the Greenfields 
 for Sunday dinner.  
 We had never been there before and
 seldom went anywhere for dinner
 except for when we visited relatives
  
 Sometimes in the summer
 two or three families would picnic together
 and then go to the big lake (Lake Michigan)
 for the afternoon
  
 Back to the Greenfields
 Just before dinner, Howard
 also known as Mr. Greenfield
 read a passage from the bible
 This seemed very profound to me
  
 We usually said grace before eating,
 but it was always the same prayer,
 “Bless us oh Lord, and these thy gifts
 which we are about to receive, 
 from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord.  Amen”
  
 We said it so often that it lost its meaning
 Becoming redundant and superfluous 
 But then I think back to the Bible reading,
 which I thought was very nice and
 A diversion from our custom and 
 I think now that the passage read 
 did not have much meaning to me
 Just a lot of new words I didn’t understand
 It was read very well and everyone
 Said, “Amen”, and then thanked Howard
  
 The dinner was very much enjoyed
 Everyone had a good time
 It was a happy day
 The Greenfields moved not long after
 I never saw them again
  
 Stanski
 November 12, 2019 ^