today was heavy and grey and cold
{the kind of cold that chills my bones and makes my fingers ache}
it seemed like the right kind of day to look back at pictures
from a day that was warm
{the kind of warm that soaks into my bones}
and to read a poem by mary oliver :: goldenrod
{that could be about sunflowers and sage that i walked through in the warm sunshine}
on roadsides,
in the fall fields,
in rumpy bunches,
saffron and orange and pale gold,
in little towers,
soft as mash,
sneeze-bringers and seed-bearers,
full of bees and yellow beads and perfect flowerlets
and orange butterflies.
i don't suppose much notice comes of it, except for honey,
and how it heartens the heart with its
blank blaze.
i don't suppose anything loves it except, perhaps,
the rocky voids
filled by its dumb dazzle.
for myself,
i was just passing by, when the wind flared
and the blossoms rustled,
and the glittering pandemonium
leaned on me.
i was just minding my own business
when i found myself on their straw hillsides,
citron and butter-colored,
and was happy, and why not?
are not the difficult labors of our lives
full of dark hours?
and what has consciousness come to anyway, so far,
that is better than these light-filled bodies?
all day
on their airy backbones
they toss in the wind,
they bend as though it was natural and godly to bend,
they rise in a stiff sweetness,
in the pure peace of giving
one's gold away.
it seemed like the right kind of day to count gratitudes ::
sunflowers {even in pictures}
warm days {remembered}
a big field to go walking in {on any given day}
the smell of sage {freshly broken, or in the vase on my desk}
a savior who knows what it is like to be rejected by some {and loved by others}
friends who love my kids
people who are kind
coffee {a new roast, freshly brewed}
hot tea {for the drive home}
my husband
my daughter
my son
lunch at home with ben {earlier today}
our very comfortable home
happy mail {some for maddie, some for me, some for ben, and some for isaac}
mercy and grace {freely given}
that there will be a day with no more pain
light
peace
gold {in pictures and in words} to give away