Poetry and Writes

Gratitude (POEM)

I'm grateful for gentle

stirrings and vibrant leaves

and the promise of

more to come.

I value changing tides and

molting songbirds and buds

on adolescent trees.

I love the scent of the Puget Sound

and the clash of oystered rocks

as they are turned by curious crows,

the clap of mussels as they fall from

the talons of clever gulls--

the slanting beams of sunlight

that perforate the woods, the

motes of dust and feather rust

glinting among the trees--

Swainson's thrushes' looping calls,

warm spring rain and waterfalls,

the smell of salt and barnacles

whistling through rolled-down

windows--travel, cars, and movie

stars, colorful high school

productions, orchestra concerts

and boisterous applause--ecstasy

of the preforming arts, galleries of

pepper-painted hearts, tap-dancing

melodies and cinema trailers, costuming

bright as a jubilant morning--makeup

and laughter and freshly-combed hair, clean

fingernails and turntables and skirts, music

and earthworms and nails now edged

with dirt--the odor of a spring day

looming ahead, of sprinkling skies

and raspberries red--I'm grateful

for these oddly-arranged things

and the unconditional joy

that they bring.