Continue…
To let gratitude be the pillow
Upon which you kneel to
Say your nightly prayer
~Maya Angelou’s in “Continue” Read the rest here.
Continue gratitude.
Is it cliché to focus on gratitude in the month of November in the U.S.? Perhaps. But here I am doing it again, with no regrets. This Spiritual Journey Thursday group’s theme last November was gratitude, too. I wasn’t part of the group then, but I did join others in writing daily haikus of gratitude, #gratiku. That experience led me to choose “gratitude” as my one little word for all of 2021, and I have tried to practice being more grateful always for the little things as well as the big things. If you haven’t already done so, I hope you’ll read Maureen Ingram’s touching poem about being grateful for a small big thing.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I Thessalonians 5:16-18
When I signed up to host the Spiritual Journey Thursday group, the theme of Gratitude was on my mind. I decided to celebrate November again this year by writing a small poem of gratitude each day, focusing on one of the gifts of that day. I’m choosing to write small poems of any kind, but with three lines, like haiku (modern or traditional), blackjack / septercet (scroll down to Jane Yolen’s description of the septercet at this link), sijo, and hay(na)ku (as well as free-from-form poems where we don’t count syllables or words of gratitude!)
Here are my first days of thank you poems for this month of gratitude. I will keep adding to this post daily throughout the month. Please consider joining me by sharing your #gratitudepoem and #gratiku on social media.
1
Ten
days of
staycation with Keith
2
Mango
And Blueberry
Yogurt for dessert
3
Clear-eyed observing
No longer seeing the world
through sepia lenses
4
181 students completed
with DIBELS screenings
Sixty-eight to go
5
It’s all, all a gift
Our spiritual journey’s
glow of gratitude
(Thanks to Ruth Hersey and Chris Margocs for inspiring this found poem.)
6
Old friends smiling at
the airport–John and Barbie–
Here again, once more
7
8
walking
at the
seaside at sunset
9
You
gave us
our daily bread
10
Cleaning
cupboards while
audio book listening
11
One unknown soldier
100 years ago rests
in peace. Thank you, sir.
12
Biryani
and curries
conversation even better
13
Sitting
outside, breezy
shady coffee spot
14
Dinner
with friends
delicious and healthy
15
Helping with a Zoom workshop
Three to seven, before dawn
Just the birds and I awake
16
Lumees
for dinner
Delicious vegan koshari
17
Almost
finished with
your yo-yo gift
18
Good
comprehensive health
care and insurance
19
Jesus-full Gospel of Mark
Filled my morning, as children
had fun and showed their learning
20
Birthday
party surprise
full of laughter
21
Teacher friends over
I’ll miss these cherished colleagues
Laughter, food, flowers
22
Unbirthday
party: teachers
over after school
23
Gifts to
Lina and Hanan
Reactions brought joy
24
Started
cooking for
ten for Thanksgiving
25
Lovely
time with
friends like family
26
For the beauty of
the verdict that helps Dixie
forge a new future
27
Garden
party with
Church School teachers
28
Reflective
time with
Thomas and Katie
29
Another
chapter finishing
today. Then more.
30
Angela has gone
to heaven. Jesus and she
are sipping good tea.
“We are all more blind to what we have than to what we have not.”
Audre Lourde
How will you share gratitude today?
