Blessings

 

I worry seriously about a handful of things -
the climate crisis, suffering wildlife,
multitudes dying of covid, open funeral pyres,
disappearing salmon and old growth forests -
and then I remember-
there's so much beauty among the worry:

this morning, all blue sky and picture-perfect clouds,
white-capped waves and the long empty beach,
coming home to sit in the sun with my coffee, and bask.
The cherry blossoms are all on the ground now,
and the rhodos are flowering, moss soft and green,
a fairy carpet under the trees. And the neighbour's dog,
rolling on the grass in delight, then offering me
one paw, then the other, his light blue eyes wolfish
and shining with the joy of Being Dog.

So much beauty:

salad veggies and fruit in the kitchen,
chosen with care at the CoOp, where
we all smiled through our eyes, behind our masks,
(we're in this together);
hope singing a sunshine song in my heart
with all of spring, summer and fall lying ahead,
celebrating by ordering a new orange beach hat
and orange soft soled sandals for 
all of the walking I will be doing
along the shore.

All of it - beauty, doggy smiles, the shore,
veggies, and sitting out front in the sun -
nourishes my soul, which feels heaped
and running over with blessings,
and grateful, grateful, grateful, I.

inspired by "Nourish" by Jeanette Encinias / Wild Writing with Laurie Wagner. Italicized words are Jeanette's.