Joy

The last seven days have been so stressful for me with going to school full-time and dealing with my personal relationships. For some reason tonight I reached for one of my favorite books, Good Poems edited by Garrison Keillor. Good poems is an anthology of poetry from many poets like Anne Sexton and Raymond Carver to Ginger Andrews and Mary Oliver. It is one of the few books I own more than one copy of. "Welcome Morning" by Anne Sexton helps me to remember the little things that help lift my spirit throughout the day. Though I have read about four books this week I rather give you a poem.

Welcome Morning
Anne Sexton

There is joy
in all:
in the hair I brush each morning,
in the Cannon towel, newly washed,
that I rub my body with each morning,
in the chapel of eggs I cook
each morning,
in the outcry from the kettle
that heats my coffee
each morning,
in the spoon and the chair
that cry “hello there, Anne”
each morning,
in the godhead of the table
that I set my silver, plate, cup, upon
each morning.

All this is God,
right here in my pea-green house
each morning
and I mean,
though often forget,
to give thanks,
to faint down by the kitchen table
in a prayer of rejoicing
as the holy birds at the kitchen window
peck into their marriage of seeds.

So while I think of it,
let me paint a thank-you on my palm
for this God, this laughter of the morning,
lest it go unspoken.

The Joy that isn’t shared, I’ve heard,
dies young.