Sam’s Box     - The painting that goes with this poem is here

Adorned with a rune set in silver,
A small box of wood
And a small
Bit of earth…
Given to this
Little gardener
With a heart of gold.

A gift that would not help in troubles,
Not a blade, nor a light
In the dark.
But if all the land lay barren
It would flourish and grow
And the blessings would flow -

This gift was giv’n from gentle hands
More blessed than sun and rain –
Entrusted to your gardener’s heart
With a blessing on each grain.
Your heart will draw its life and strength,
By the Shire you will stand.
Grain by grain
You’ll heal your land
Plant it carefully, Sam.

In this gift every grain bears a blessing,
Ever fragrant with
Memories of old,
From the days of the earliest singing
When the earth was young.
When the stories you tell by the fireside
Were still fresh…
Were still new.
And the life that then flowed swiftly
Shall breathe anew
In this gift, through you.

A treasure to be covered in the warm earth by your hand,
In the love you bear your people
There is healing for your land;
Its blossoms soon will lift their heads,
The leaves will soon unfold,
And memory will be silver-green,
Alive and crowned with gold.

Set in the earth to bring it life,
A small gift shared so well.
It seemed so small yet overflowed
Gaining more than you could tell.
When at the end there still was left
Even more than you had planned,
You cast your dreams
Into the air…

Your heart so full that all could share.
Plant it carefully, Sam.

- Primula