I'm thankful to the mail carriers
who are still delivering mail,
to the garbage collectors who are still
doing their thing.
Thank you to the truck drivers
who are getting groceries to the stores,
and to all the grocers who are remaining open,
doing their best despite the hoarders.
I'm thankful to local government officials
who are making hard but necessary decisions
to close the playgrounds and civic offices,
and to the police for keeping us safe.
I'm thankful for the sun that keeps rising in the east,
for the clouds when they bring us needed rain.
I'm thankful for my family that hasn't yet gone crazy,
for my friends who have sent encouraging emails
or called on the phone just because.
I'm thankful for the Internet and for social media
that keeps me in touch despite all the noise.
I'm thankful for everything else I can't think of so easily
because I had taken it all for granted.
What are you thankful for?
Gratitude in a Pandemic by Michael Dylan Welch | Poetry Fabric Box
Michael Dylan Welch is originally from England, grew up there and in Ghana, Australia, and Canada, and now lives near Seattle, Washington with his Japanese wife and their two young-adult children. Michael's poems, essays, and reviews have been published in hundreds of journals and anthologies in more than twenty languages. He is deeply active with haiku and related poetry, as cofounder of the Haiku North America conference (1991) and the American Haiku Archives (1996), and founder of the Tanka Society of America (2000), the Seabeck Haiku Getaway (2008), and National Haiku Writing Month, or NaHaiWriMo (2010). He also served two terms as poet laureate of Redmond, Washington, where he also curates (since 2006) the monthly SoulFood Poetry Night reading series, and for many years was president of the Redmond Association of Spokenword. You can read more about Michael and explore his extensively published writing at www.graceguts.com.
