In Which Life is Good and Gratitude Abounds

I am in a pensive and peaceful mood today...a grateful and hopeful one. In large part, these feelings have been inspired by a blogging friend named Molly. What a lovely and valiant person she is, and I have grown to care for her. Thank you, Molly, for the things you are teaching me.

Thanks to Chris Gardner, too, from Digital Flower Pictures, for allowing me to share this great shot of a Japanese maple and birch trees against a blue sky.

And now for the poem it calls to mind. (No, you can't escape the poetry...)

Untitled, for the moment

©2003 by Susan Noyes Anderson

Beauty cannot enter where we do not leave a friendly space.
Poems began as empty pages, masterpieces as a trace.

Every note must stand alone before it makes a lullabye.
Every tree has greater stature viewed against a naked sky.

Life is simple; letting go creates a place for hopes and dreams.

Barren walls and open floors make room for ever-changing themes.

The title of this poem is actually Chair, Dresser, Mirror, and it appears in the book, His Children (copies of which have just been mailed to the winners of last week's 150th post contest). So keep your eyes open for it, ladies!

Below is the original photograph that inspired the poem. It belongs to Anita Schiller (©2003), the talented photographer whose body of work demanded a book in the first place. I am grateful that my own body of work has been supplemented by the poetry she asked me to contribute. Thanks, Anita.

Today, I am grateful.

Today, life is good.

(And yes, the two are inseparably connected.)

=)