poetry

thank you for prayers answered

my life like every other
one string of miracles awaiting notice

my genesis two unlikely souls entangling

my first heartbeat echoing
her warm thrum of love
that has borne me through all my days

the luck of having a sister
of being not-alone growing up
growing older

the two loving grandfathers
who saw me whole
and hugged me at every chance

the teachers who cared for me
who made my wandering path seem
a matter of course

the creek and lake and ocean water
that dissolved any bits of world-weariness

my high school friends who claimed me gladly
innocently swinging under a circle of moon

my college friends
who I didn’t need to explain myself to
the kind of people I had hoped existed

especially that tall skinny boy with steady hands
calm competence
flashing mischievous eyes
and a romantic calculator
who pulled me close
and hung on through everything
through uneventful years
and life-altering moments

for the soft warm fur of a clever loyal dog
and the home I always dreamed of
lace curtains books on shelves and peace

and the children I couldn’t have dreamed up
so their own incomparable souls
and I so lucky to live beside them

for my friends today
these real raw devoted fierce compassionate endlessly-giving
beings I trust and turn to and emulate

for the luxury of time to be not do
the great joy of purpose and belonging to all that is
the unasked for beauty strewn about us all everyday

and, today, our son’s sweet journal
with its sincere silly sketches
and inscribed delible memories
returned to him by a kind stranger’s hand

for all these gifts seen and unseen
Lord, I am not worthy to receive them
but only say the word
and I shall be healed.