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All This

Sep 20th, 2012 by

1.

A stranger’s hands
dig clay
a potter’s hands
shape: a teapot,
two cups.

2.

Rain falls,
pools in lakes,
streams into rivers.
Men clad in jeans
and yellow vests bury
pipes that carry
water from mountain
lake to our front yard.
Another man, in
jeans that need a belt or
suspenders, squats before
an open cabinet, fiddles
with knobs, hoses, tools
until our tap flows
water.

3.

Women
in brightly colored robes,
white scarves tied over
their heads, woven straw
baskets strapped to their
backs, sing to focus away
from heat and tedium.
Their fingers pluck flush
from shrubs. Later,
they lay leaves in sun
to dry.

4.

All this.

All this. All
so we
might sit and share
a cup, a pot
of tea.

Today, I am particularly grateful for the people I do not know whose work makes my life possible:

2730. The men and women who build and maintain the roads on which I drive.

2731. The folks at DreamHost who keep my website running.

2732. The folks at WordPress who make it so very easy to post content online.

2733. The gentleman who designed my blog template.

2735. The brilliant designers at Apple who created my MacBook (not to mention my iPhone).

2736. The men who built my house 99 years ago.

2737. The people through the decades who have cared for this house and kept it in trust for people like me who were to live in it after they left.

2738. The woman who tended a rose garden in my front yard for 44 years.

2739. The people who grow my food: they expose their lives and livelihoods to the elements. I am amazed by their trust and grateful for their work.

2740. The women who pick the leaves that get turned into my morning cup of tea.

Your turn: What are you thankful for?

Please list three or four (or ten!) things for which you’re grateful down in the comment box. Let’s lift up a hymn of grateful praise to the Giver of all good gifts!

If you’re an email subscriber, click here to leave a comment.

 
 

Linking today with Ann Voskamp, who inspired the gift list in the first place.

“All This” is a (sort of) found poem inspired by Danielle Gold’s story, “You and I Sit Down for Tea,” in the most recent issue of Ladybug magazine.

This post is offered as part of Tweetspeak Poetry’s found poem project, Tea for Two.

Tags: found poem, , , , , tweetspeak

Posted in Gratitude

  • Diana Trautwein

    Lovely, Kimberlee! Thank you. I am grateful for -
    * my friend, the architect, who put a tall window at the foot of my bed, giving me a view of Mt. Montecito through the oak trees;
    * my husband (and our gardening crew) who keep things roughly trimmed – to protect views but not to make things overly neat;
    * the highway workers at the corner who are putting in additional flood control measures (even though it’s fouling up traffic and our getting out the driveway for goin’ on 3 weeks now :>);
    * the sound of the fountain just outside my window – what is it about moving water??
    * the pattern of the sunlight on my walls and floor as the east-facing transom plays with the shadows;
    * the wooden chest at the foot of our bed – hand made by my husband’s uncle for his sister (Dick’s mom) when they were in high school (it’s full of old photos, too);
    * the fireplace in the corner which will soon be used to keep me warm in the evenings (and remind me that my husband’s love language is acts of service.

  • http://www.facebook.com/sarah.webber.127 Sarah Webber

    So grateful today to have found a way to persuade Alex to do his homework without torture. What was an hour long ordeal last night that ended with a loss of privileges and him being sent to bed without his Angry Birds Plush Toys (that he sleeps with every night and even took to California and back) was transformed, this afternoon, to 15 minutes at the table together, very pleasantly working on 10 subtraction problems (tricky borrowing). Also, so grateful for the consultation with our doctor yesterday afternoon who helped me understand why Alex was having such a hard time (and how to adjust the medication) and gave me new medication for my continuing ear infection. And, my mother-in-law, who gave me 4 hours of her morning today to help me get the school papers back into order, for the first time in a year. Lots, lots, lots to be grateful for today. I’m exhausted, but very thankful.

  • http://www.facebook.com/sarah.webber.127 Sarah Webber

    And, I am so thankful to have a dear friend like yourself who challenges me think in patterns of gratitude on a regular basis. It is a real blessing, my dear.

  • http://kimberleeconwayireton.net/ Kimberlee Conway Ireton

    Sarah, my friend, you inspire me to look harder at my life and dig deeper for gifts in the midst of chaos and pain and exhaustion. Thank you.

  • http://kimberleeconwayireton.net/ Kimberlee Conway Ireton

    Diana, I am grateful that I am going to get to meet you in less than a week and finally give you that hug :)
    Also, this list! I loved reading it and getting to rejoice with you in these good gifts. Thanks so much for sharing them!

  • Michelle

    So beautiful Kimberlee!

  • http://www.redemptionsbeauty.com/ Shelly Miller

    I wanted to stop by here and meet you before I meet you in person at Laity. I enjoyed your piece at Deeper Story and love this one too. You took thankfulness to new places. Today I’m thankful for the cool weather, open windows and a quiet morning with a steamy cup of tea. And I’ll drink my tea differently this morning btw.

  • http://kimberleeconwayireton.net/ Kimberlee Conway Ireton

    Hi Shelly! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and leaving your own litany of thankfulness. I look forward to meeting you this weekend!