Saturday, December 3, 2011

Gratitude

For the past three years, we've followed a new tradition with my now mother-in-law: a Thanksgiving morning poetry slam. Most everyone who attends brings something original, and poems have ranged from haiku to songs. I've written a poem for this event each year, and since I have this nifty blog this year, and I don't have any sepia tinted photos of turkey, oyster stuffing, and a beautifully set table, I thought I'd share my poem for the obligatory T-day post. So here it is: my 2011 Thanksgiving poem on gratitude:


I'm telling you
this life is a tightrope walk.
One thin stretched wire only
to balance on -
abyss and God-only-knows-what
on either side.


I think I feel the teetering the most
when I stop to pick up your gloves left there on the floor
when I run my hands under warm water in the kitchen sink
when I walk through our front door -
whatever it is (although it's almost always something simple)
that causes my stomach to seize and I realize fully
how utterly, completely, and overwhelmingly in love
I am with this life.


I believe the only thing that can save me is gratitude.


When I give thanks
it lifts my eyes to the horizon.


In thanks is where it is each step only that matters.


In thanks, I know that where each foot is at any time is enough to make the steps that led me there worth it
and the unfailing uncertainty of each step ahead of me, okay.


Standing in thanks for the here and now shores my footing -
the abyss falls away
and I find again the courage to move forward
step by step.


I've come to really like this tradition - it's right up there with the oyster stuffing.