We are finishing up our costume fitting this morning for the Collard Opera.

The excerpt from Leaves of Green below ran yesterday on The Huffington Post.

Click here to download the full text.

When I was real little, my mama would say,
“Child eat your collards, don’t push them away.”
But that word made me shudder, and I’d beg and say “Please
I don’t even like Spinach, don’t make me eat these.”

But after my pleading, bad becomes worse.
“You don’t eat your collards, you get no dessert!”
So I mustered enough courage to take the first bite
And I found out then that my mama was right.

So now when I look at a table that’s spread
with casseroles, pastas, fish, meat, and bread,
I search through the bounty and say, “By all means
Fill up this plate with them Collard Greens.”

I am in love with Oxford, Mississippi and the Southern Foodways Alliance…
xoNatalie

Leaves of Green
Sunday, October 30, 2011, 10 am
The Lyric Theater
Oxford, Mississippi