Welcome Morning

WELCOME MORNING

by Anne Sexton from The Awful Rowing Toward God (Chattus & Windus)

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

to 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 in the morning,

lest it go unspoken.

The Joy that isn't shared, I've heard,

dies young.

No commentary or reflection this welcome Saturday morning, just an invitation . . . to share a joy you experience today.