Gratitude by Mary Oliver
What did you notice?
The dew small;
the low-flying sparrow,
the bat, on the wind, in the dark;
big-chested geese, in the V of sleekest
performance;
the soft toad, patient in the hot sand;
the sweet-hungry ants;
the uproar of mice in the empty house;
the tin music of the cricket's body;
the blouse of the goldenrod.
What did you hear?
The thrush greeting the morning;
the little bluebirds in their hot box;
the salty talk of the wren,
then the deep cup of the hour of silence.
What did you admire?
The oaks, letting down their dark and hairy fruit;
the carrot, rising in its elongated waist;
the onion, sheet after sheet, curved inward to the
pale green wand;
at the end of summer the brassy dust, the almost liquid
beauty of the flowers;
then the ferns, scrawned black by the frost.
I really am thankful for my life and opportunities. My job and the students I work with can be taxing at times, but I'm thankful for the opportunity to hang out with these young minds every day. Our journal entries this week are about bridges. We started yesterday with a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Bridge. Today we read a quote by Lisa Wingate, "Fear builds walls instead of bridges. I want a life of bridges." Before I could even discuss the writing (meaning, agree/disagree, connections), a student yelled out, "Trump." Without laughing or saying anything, I suggested that current news stories may be a source of connections. These kids are wonderful. Plus tomorrow, we'll listen to The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Under the Bridge, and the following day we'll look at a cool picture of a bridge. I'm thankful that I work with seventh graders.
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