What shall we bring to community?
A loaf, a fish, a voice for singing,
hands for baking, a heart for teaching,
wisdom for guiding our children and youth?
 
What shall we bring to creating
our community of transformation?
Feet for marching our convictions into action,
courage and hope to encourage the hopeless?
 
What shall we bring to connect
to a wider community?
Authenticity to build bridges with sisters and brothers,
skillfulness to create just and sustainable systems?
 
What shall we bring to experience
our interconnectedness through generosity?
Open hearts that join the personal to the global,
minds that leap from scarcity to abundance?
 
What shall we bring to find the place that clicks—
where our inner healing meets the world’s healing?
Where the energy we share—the loaves, fishes,
voices, hands, hearts, and wisdom—
are multiplied to overflowing
to feed the needs of many, with basketfuls to spare?

 
Poem may be used with attribution.  Tina Datsko de Sánchez serves as Poet in Residence at the First Congregational Church of Long Beach.  She is the author of the bilingual poetry book The Delirium of Simón Bolívar.