Tuesday, February 25, 2020
A poem for today …
ON HER LIST (about Sharon Z., 82, Blessings, CT)
He asked her
what was on her list today,
and she said
she would wash the clothes,
and then watch winter
washing the hours with snow,
and then watch her life
washing itself so it shined
like the astonishing stars,
and then she would wonder
at the wonder of the next sixty seconds
as they are washed and re-washed
by something spread out endlessly around her,
and that’s about it,
she said.
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And the fridge magnetic poem for today …
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UNNOTICED ABUNDANCE (written in the summer, 7 years ago)
I wonder how much everyday abundance I fail to notice, the way I sometimes absentmindedly pass by the roses overflowing our trellis these days. In my busy comings and goings, I usually don’t stop to appreciate the many dozens of pink blossoms spilling over the bars of the trellis, just as I’m sure I heedlessly disregard simple but beautiful lavishness in other places. Stone fences, for instance, are plentiful all along the roads near our house – hundreds of thousands of stones selected for their perfect shapes and shades of gray, and set in place by practiced artisans. It’s a lovely bountifulness of natural fencing, but one that I usually pass with hardly a glance. And what about the layers and layers of leaves that are overflowing in trees at this luxurious time of year? Great clouds of leaves softly waver above me, but when do I ever truly notice them, study them, be thankful for them? Above the leaves, too, are sometimes bounteous tiers of clouds that seem to puff their way across the sky, but when was the last time I really noticed their lushness? When was the last time I really looked at clouds in all their graceful profusion? This world is a place of pure abundance, and I guess, at 71, it’s time I started seriously noticing it.
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Below, ‘ordinary’ trees, house, and stones …
EVERYDAY MIRACLES: An Occasional Journal of a Life Lived in Wonder 
Hi dad. I am trying to notice all the small and large things of beauty that I usually pass by quickly (without really seeing at all). Your post inspires me to keep on with this goal. Love you.
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