Universal Gratefulness (A Poem)

By Joyce Jacobo

[Author’s Note: Even with all the troubles in the world today, it is still a miraculous place.]

Thank you             to the universe at large

      for the gentle trickle of sunlight over the horizon at dawn

              often accompanied by birdsong

Thank you                   to the whole of creation

         for the skies that stretch overhead

                   whether they come in cloudless blue

                                                       murky grey

                                                         cosmic nighttime

                                                               or various artful hues

Thank you

             for the music of meadow grasses swished by a strong breeze

                                  the distant sweep of waves across a beach

                         the jingle of windchimes from porch eaves

                                             among so many others

Thank you

          for the affection glimpsed in tight hugs from family members

                          lighthearted exchanges with friends

                      random acts of kindness between strangers

          alongside the countless ways one heart

                                                                      can touch another heart

Thank you                

       for those calm evenings when life seems so still

              that we can whisper our thoughts and feelings aloud     

                      to the heavens above

                               just like so many other people have done

Thank you

      for laughter

            tears

                and many untold emotions that mingle and weave through us

Thank you

       for the stories to fill our hearts and souls with memories

                  which help us to form distinct identities

                              and understand reality

And thank you

       for these words

            with which it is possible to give thanks

                 and remember

                      this gratefulness in some form

                              for years to come