Twelve on the Table

twelve are the dishes
on Ukrainian Christmas,
the Nativity,-
on my table,
as the symbols of the Twelve
who followed the Baby Jesus,
as twelve are the months,
that whirl in the orbits
of the Sun and the Moon,
many are the memories
of the departed,
with my Mother,
who taught me the Rite
and the rituals,
the stories to believe in,
for whom I am praying
at the table with the twelve dishes,
with the "kuotia", the dish of the repentance,
with the poppy's seeds, as the stars,
with the grain, as the number of the generations
before and after,
with the walnuts, as the symbol of wisdom and health,
with the honey, as soft as love, unity and friendship,
with the water, the base of life,
with the red beef-soup, as the color of our blood,
that makes all humans relatives,
with the crescent-shaped dumplings,
filled with veggies and fruits,
as the honor to the moons of our lives,
filled with the results of our toils,
with the doughnuts and round-sun dumplings
to mark the wheels of the lives and believes
with the sad thoughts and sweet dreams
to be the images of God with us,
talking about Him in the prayers
given to us from the generations
unknown, lost in the mist
of the Eternity re-Birth.

Ivan Petryshyn