Poem of the Month: Giving Thanks

Note: This post is picture-less because it seems I have maxed out my photo storage on Blogger and now need to pay $2.50 a month?? I have been trying different options for the past 5 days while this post sat, but now I'm just posting it and may cough up the $30 a year if my last option doesn't pan out . . .

It's been a while since I posted a poem of the month, but I definitely need to for November. Because, despite my last post, when I think about my life, I am deeply, deeply grateful. And poetry expresses the beauty of life so well. Especially when it's Mary Oliver's poetry. So here's "Messenger":

MESSENGER by Mary Oliver

 My work is loving the world.

Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—

equal seekers of sweetness.

Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.

Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?

Am I no longer young, and still half-perfect? Let me

keep my mind on what matters,

which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be

astonished.

The phoebe, the delphinium.

The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.

Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart

and these body-clothes,

a mouth with which to give shouts of joy

to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,

telling them all, over and over, how it is

that we live forever.

I love this poem because she tells us to focus on what matters, which is "mostly standing still and learning to be astonished," something that I have a hard time doing in my busy life--standing still and not focusing on my old boots and torn coat and instead focusing on all the ingredients around me and on the perspective of "how  it is that we live forever." 

We had a good, low-key Thanksgiving with delicious food and good company. I got a great start on my Christmas shopping thanks to Black Friday, and we had fun meeting up with old Massachusetts friends/family, the Joneses.  I have much to be thankful for!