Gratitude
I usually write when I’m sad
Because agony is easier to grasp — the way it coats
and conceals everything I feel in a viscous, painful
zeal — it’s impossible to escape.
I usually write when I’m enraged
Because anger is hardest to quell — save by trapping it into one of my writing spells — if I don’t, I
risk an explosion to rival hell.
But today is different
Because I feel indifferent
To the neurotic unpleasantness within me
And in turn, it too, has gone silent.
I feel like a fruit
That’s ripening to burst
My heart is overflowing
With so much joy it almost hurts;
I feel full of lightness
And saturated with contentment
In a way so rare
I almost don’t recognize it
If everything around me, right now, were to plummet
I would still feel as if
I could rise above it
I feel wings growing
Where a ball and chain used to be
I feel shackles breaking — yielding to the aching
To be free;
I don’t know what this feeling is, only how very fleeting it is
I don’t know what has ruptured within me
I feel so airy it’s making me dizzy
Drunk on joy — I could almost swear it is true
Except upon deeper thought
I’d say I’m actually
Drunk on gratitude;
Gratitude
Because life is beautiful;
Gratitude
Because we can make life beautiful;
Perspective is a fickle mistress
Constantly switching to forever bear witness
To all the triumphs
And falls
Of souls
Regardless of how ragged
Or rich
Or old;
But she always comes full circle
To remind us what we own;
Yes, she always comes full circle
To remind us what we owe
Constant
Eternal
Gratitude
For;
Everything whispered
And spoken aloud
Every wisp of fate
That lays threaded betwixt the clouds;
Every callus
And scrape
And ache;
Every bit of love and care trampling in tragedy’s wake;
The roof above your head — the one sheltering you through storms
The stain on your shirt — and the option of changing it because you have more
The two-day-old food in the fridge — that testifies you haven’t starved
The ratty old blanket and cranky old family — constantly ensuring you are warm and loved, no matter how hard times are.
Little things
Have the power to bring
Tearful wonder and peace
To those who spare just a moment to think —
Count your blessings
And you’ll find
There are more of them than there are
Stars scattered across the expanse of
Skies far and wide.
~ Maaheen Shaikh `25
