Brown Baggin' at Grey Bears

Dan waxes down the tables

in big sweeps. Tony checks
to see all stations are manned.
Do we have someone here?
Anybody doing onions?
He runs down the list of
surplus from local providers
carrots, apples, salad, beans,
asparagus, spinach, and more.
Lastly, You all have gloves?
7:30 sharp, all hands on deck.
Let it rip! The leader whips
open a brown bag, and
the line whirrs into action:
at each station a fast drop
into the bag and a deft push
to the next drop. Swishhhh.
Youre all fingers as you try
to grab two apples in each hand
in two seconds one-two.
Takes a while to get a handle,
and if you dont get it,
Tony shouts, Give him a hand;
the juggling act is eased by
two working hand in glove.
At the sidelines men stand by
with grins and jocularity,
zealously replenish the cartons.
The mushroom in plastic bags
go fast being voluminous,
but the one-cup pouches of lentils
take a whiletwo hundred by the carton,
believe it or not. Ongos, cuidado!
Ongos bongos! A boxful drops thump,
another mountain of mushroom to empty.

Grab the bag, toss in the salad,

pass it on. Hey, I can do this,
but as time wears on, your muscles
come to know firsthand the weight
of lettuce the size of babies heads.
So does the replenisher as he
slams down a heavy box. Lechuga!
A seconds indiscretion, it lands on her hand.
She bites her tongue, not to fly off the handle,
no need to throw down the gauntlet.
No need for more blood on your hands.
Let it pass, let it pass, like the bags whizzing by.
Keep moving, keep em moving, even
the empty cardboard boxes kicked like
soccer balls down the lane, out of the way.
At times it takes full attention:
the jitterbug of grabbing four potatoes,
two and two, tossing them nimbly
into the bag, doing it over and over again
frenetically until something
goes out of hand somewhere
and the bags lurch crinkling
to a halt. Other times it lulls to an
easy rhythm as you drop in
the Romaine, then a swing from
one foot to the other as you waltz
the bag on down like an old hand.
The sweat and tears of arch-backed
Mexicans under the hot Salinas sun
are not shed in vain, the fruits of
their labor not wasted. If it is true
that you are what you eat, then
we, who shall feast on Romaine,
are all Caesars or nothing but
channels for Absolute energy
God if you will. In a happy morning
hum before the workday starts,
the soul is replenished like the bags
just filled as we continue
to connect, sustain, and recycle.
Unhae Langis

* The Brown Bag program at Grey Bears prepares and delivers 4,200 bags of food to seniors of Santa Cruz County weekly,
rain or shine. The nonprofits guiding principle is connect, sustain, and recycle.