Poetry Thursday-Poem In My Pocket

my backyard, early this morning

Why I Wake Early

~Mary Oliver~

Hello, sun in my face

Hello, you who make the morning

and spread it over the fields

and into the faces of the tulips

and the nodding morning glories,

and into the windows of, even, the

miserable and the crotchety-

best preacher that ever was,

dear star, that just happens

to be where you are in the universe

to keep us from ever-darkness,

to ease us with warm touching,

to hold us in the great hands of light-

good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day

in happiness, in kindness.

Written neatly on a piece of pretty paper and folded gently in half just once, this poem has been tucked inside my wallet all week, serving as instruction, prayer, and benediction all in one. I know I've posted this poem before, but it's one that always comforts me and sends me onward into life with a renewed spirit.