December 19, 2007

• Piled High and Running Over

  

  (Adapted from the archives) Photo credit: Danny, my brother (DPH)
  [Wait! I've never realized how close those initials are to PhD! - weird.]

  Thankful

  I’m thankful for the gloaming,
  

  old hymns in minor keys,
  

  Reuben sandwiches and Subaru
  engines.

   

  For continued forgiveness for
  besetting sins;

  wood heat, Bach’s Passacaglia
  

  and lavender. 
  

   

  For long-distance phone calls,
  

  library cards,
  

  Netflix,
  
  

  and another leaf in our expanding
  table. 

   

  I’m grateful for a grandson and a
  stack of books,

  for garlic sizzling in olive oil,
  

  for book-lined walls and long car
  drives.

   

  French Onion soup,
  

  Sunday feasts,
  

  John Donne’s poetry,
  

  Two Buck Chuck Cabernet Sauvignon,
  

  toddler laughter and uninterrupted
  sleep.

   

  Truth, beauty and goodness,
  

  goodness and mercy,
  

  mercy and grace. 
   

   

  I’m grateful for Google,
  

  down comforters and
  

  freedom from
  debt.

   

  I praise God for King’s College Choir,

  Vaughn Williams
  

  and psalms from the
  Vulgate;

   

  For manly hugs and kisses,
  

  hand-knit socks,
  

  alliteration and Carl
  Larsson.

   

  Declared
  righteousness,

  promises kept and
  

  the book of Ecclesiastes.

   

  Extended family,
  

  the piano,
  lingering meals.

  
  

  The scent of simmering spiced citrus,
  

  speech, and
  memories.

  
  

  Billy Collin’s poems,
  
  

  Wendell Berry’s short stories,

  extra sharp cheddar cheese,
  

  and
  Amazon.com boxes.

   

  Pesto, bubble wrap, smiles that
  light up the whole face,

  Naan, chai, and good drinking
  water.

   

  I wonder at the connections,

  on the web and face to face,

  for quotes, for thoughts, for book reviews,

  for the shallows and the deeps,
  

  PaperBackSwap, Anthony Trollope
  

  Jacques Barzun, and Susan Allen Toth.
  

   

  I’m thankful for the death of death,
  

  for mingled tears,

  For temporary sighs and sorrow
  

  and
  the hope of the future.

   

  Cobb salad, Athanasius, rustic bread.

  Independent sons, reading evenings,
  growing families.

   

  I give thanks for 100% cotton,
  loving rebukes,

  Laughter in the morning and southern
  windows.

   

  For nostrils, fingernails and belly
  buttons,

  for DSL, clematis, and airplane
  travel,

  different cultures and customs,
  

  enduring
  friendships.

  and for the Lord God who made them all.
  

  
  

  “Oh give thanks
  unto the Lord, for He is good.  His mercy endures
  forever.”

  
  

  • 12:07 pm
  • 9 Comments