Touch

Greek Pasta with Tomatoes and White Beans
2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes
1 (19 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
10 ounces fresh spinach, washed and chopped
8 ounces penne pasta
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Cook the pasta as directed, preferably al dente.  Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes and beans in a large non-stick skillet.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.  Add spinach to the sauce and cook for two minutes or until the spinach wilts.  Serve the sauce over the pasta and sprinkle with feta.  This is easy and tasty!

The tao of touch


What magic does touch create
that we crave it so.  That babies
do not thrive without it.  That
the nurse who cuts tough nails
and sands calluses on the elderly
tells me sometimes men weep
as she rubs lotion on their feet.

Yet the touch of a stranger
the bumping or predatory thrust
in the subway is like a slap.
We long for the familiar, the open
palm of love, its tender fingers.
It is our hand that tamed cats
into pets, not our food.

The widow looks in the mirror
thinking, no one will ever touch
me again, never.  Not hold me.
Not caress the softness of my
breasts, my inner thighs, the swell
of my belly.  Do I still live
if no on knows my body?

We touch each other so many
ways, in curiosity, in anger,
to command attention, to soothe,
to quiet, to rouse, to cure.
Touch in our first language
and often, our last as the breath
ebbs and a hand closes our eyes.

                      - Marge Piercy, from The Hunger Moon: New and Selected Poems