Gratitude

Gratitude requires a pause
A reprieve from our habitual concerns
About ourselves, our family, our tribe
Our team, our diagnosis
Our beloved’s diagnosis.

Our focus needs to soften
To allow gratitude
It’s not hard—it’s just different.
It’s noticing the feathering of the
Branches of the bare trees against
An opulent sky and day’s beginning

And ending;
The pleasure of breath as it enters patient lungs;
And we feel the blanket of peace
Heavy on our resting bodies

Or the tears that arrive unbidden
From the sorrow of what we’ve missed; of the harms we’ve done
As much as from the joy of what we’ve lived and learned
How we have loved and been loved.

For the month of November, I write a poem a day to support the efforts of the Center for New Americans. Please support my efforts by contributing to this wonderful organization via my pledge page.