More than a year ago, I read this post and thought, I should write a poem like that. This week, I finally did. Both Mary Lee's poem and the one she used as a mentor text were about mornings, but I decided to make mine about the evening. Writing it gave me a great sense of well-being, as I kept adding details that all added up to how blessed, cared for, and loved I really am.
Gratitude List
Praise be this evening for work ended,
the bare feet, the droning fan,
the smell of soy sauce floating upstairs from the kitchen.
Praise be the doves outside my window,
the dried eucalyptus in the bottle,
the empty mug, my tea already drunk.
Praise be the books on my shelves,
the photos of friends who smile at me benignly,
the fully-charged laptop, playing music I’ve chosen.
Praise be the lizard, scampering across the wall,
digesting bugs that will not trouble me tonight.
Praise be the quiet, the nobody needing anything,
the slight rumbling of my stomach that will soon be quelled,
the peace, and sleep not far off.
Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
I've enjoyed writing daily posts for National Poetry Month this week, highlighting poems from my archives. On Saturday I shared a Jack Spicer poem, on Sunday some William Stafford, on Monday an Elizabeth Bishop poem on travel, on Tuesday Wislawa Szymborska's poem "The Joy of Writing," on Wednesday three poems about motherhood, and on Thursday, Shakespeare's Sonnet XXIX.
Irene is hosting the Progressive Poem and the roundup today.
1 hour ago
11 comments:
Your poem makes me give a happy sigh, Ruth. A beautiful list of blessings, well-said. I would pick a favorite line, but I have too many.
A perfect psalm for the end of the day. Very nice.
Beautiful. Just beautiful. "Praise be the quiet" - I know that feeling all too well, that happy sigh of satisfaction at the end of a busy day. May we all find things to praise in our everyday lives.
Ruth, oh boy did you ever! This is so beautiful... I am remembering driving through a eucalyptus forest in California... oh that scent! Poetry, for sure! Thank you. xo
So peaceful and lovely!
Reading this at the end of the day gives me a happy sigh, Ruth. It's wonderful. Little things mean so much if we let them.
Ta da! I love how it took a year for that poem to come together for you....PF is like that for me. I'll get an idea from someone and it will work in my brain until it comes out into words. A miracle of sorts, I think. I especially like the lizard digesting bugs for you. Such a mundane and beautiful part of the circle of life. So glad it got noticed and framed in your poem.
Have a great week!
Lovely poem. The details wrap me in a quiet hug.
I love how your poem gives me a glimpse into your life... so different from mine on Canada's west coast. And I feel like I'm playing tag, in that you have just tagged me with inspiration. The NaPoWriMo prompts that I'm following suggest we write a poem with some repetition in it. "Praise be" seem like perfect words to repeat.
Praise be... the empty mug, my tea already drunk. I love this! A lovely poem showing us snippets of your life and likes.
Praise be for poems that give us a glimpse into another place, another person's world. I love your eveningtime Gratitude List.
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