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Gratefulness
By its very nature, a poem invites us to slow down and pay attention. When we approach a poet’s purposeful choice of words–and the pauses between them–with intention, curiosity, and openness, meaning emerges. Sometimes we are engulfed and impacted by a poem’s felt truth. Other times a poem will take its time with us, and we find that its meaning unfolds in layers and unsuspecting moments, leaving us touched in unexpected ways.
The poets in this collection inspire us to treasure the breath, celebrate nature’s abundance, and appreciate all the miraculous everyday gifts that surround us. With this collection we invite you to savor slowing down, even if only for a few precious moments. Make a practice of entering with reverence the space that each of these poems creates. Arrive fully into the invitation. Open all of your senses. Enjoy!
Right Here by Dane Anthony Stop moving. Stand in one place – this place. Breathe slowly; in, then out. Repeat.
Repeat again. Let your shoulders sink and relax. Unclench… Read the full poem
The Cure for It All by Julia Fehrenbacher Go gently today, don’t hurry or think about the next thing. Walk with the quiet trees, can you believe how brave they are—how kind? Model your life after theirs. Blow kisses at yourself in the mirror… Read the full poem
Ocean Love by Carolyn Chilton Casas Let me not forget to notice all the seasons of the ocean with an awe-filled soul— equally winter’s pounding surf and summer’s gentle swells. Every bay a changing alchemy… Read the full poem
Let Us Gather in a Flourishing Way by Juan Felipe Herrera Let us gather in a flourishing way with sunluz grains abriendo los cantos que cargamos cada día en el young pasto nuestro cuerpo para regalar y dar feliz perlas pearls of corn flowing árboles de vida en las cuatro esquinas… Read the full poem
In the Middle by Barbara Crooker of a life that’s as complicated as everyone else’s, struggling for balance, juggling time. The mantle clock that was my grandfather’s has stopped at 9:20; we haven’t had time to get it repaired. The brass pendulum is still, the chimes don’t ring. One day you look out the window… Read the full poem
From Blossoms by Li-Young Lee From blossoms comes this brown paper bag of peaches we bought from the boy at the bend in the road where we turned toward signs painted Peaches… Read the full poem
Watching the Rower by Andrea Potos Oh to find that still surface, the glide of silk and silence, sun lit along the oars, the mind in the arms, threading the seams of each moment. Read the full poem
A Lazy Day by Paul Laurence Dunbar The trees bend down along the stream, Where anchored swings my tiny boat. The day is one to drowse and dream And list the thrush’s throttling note. When music from his bosom bleeds Among the river’s rustling reeds… Read the full poem
Woods by Noelle Oxenhandler I wish to grow dumber, to slip deep into woods that grow blinder with each step I take, until the fingers let go of their numbers and the hands are finally ignorant as paws. Unable to count the petals… Read the full poem
Ode to Lemons by Michelle Courtney Berry Today, the sun-glazed bag of lemons adorning the white counter became in my imagination… Read the full poem
Sabbaths 1998, VII by Wendell Berry There is a place you can go where you are quiet, a place of water and the light
on the water. Trees are there, leaves, and the light… Read the full poem
The Once Invisible Garden by Laura Foley How did I come to be this particular version of me, and not some other, this morning of purple delphiniums blooming, like royalty—destined to meet these three dogs… Read the full poem
Morning Poem by Todd Davis Blackberries hang in the darkest creases of the trellis, each dimpled to bursting. The black-eyed Susans are mostly black, their yellow tresses already rotted. Goldfinches wander the air, meditate upon the cone flower’s… Read the full poem
We invite you to share your reflections in the comments.
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