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Monday, May 10, 2010

song of thanks

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Thank you, barn.
Thank you, dark.
Thank you, ragged edge of moon.
And silhouettes of trees,
   oh I thank you too.

Thank you, morning.
Thank you, light.
Thank you, arc and filament
     of bright.

Thank you, red.
Thank you, scrim.
Thank you, patina and skin.
Thank ceramicist and peristalsis.
Thank you, fingertips
    and mug.

Thank you, lips and metamorphosis.
Thank you, hand and earth and rug.
 



I am heading for NYC tomorrow. Thank you, vacation. Thank you, Don. Thank you, Lesley and Brian. And bon voyage, Peter. Thank you, motherhood.

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76 comments:

Pauline said...

a small and perfect meditation!

Anet said...

Lovely poem of thanks!
Makes me think about all the little things I over-look sometimes.
Thanks Ruth:)

Unknown said...

You gift with your posts.

enjoy NYC. I've only been a few times, but love love it.
Happy continued Mothering days to you.

Marcie said...

A wonderful little meditation in gratitude..and giving thanks for the small things.
Have a great trip!!!

CottageGirl said...

Your heart is singing, my dear! Have a wonderful time! Enjoy Lesley and Brian!!! Find a wonderful restaurant or some wonderful NY spot and take lots of pics to share!

Loring Wirbel said...

NYC? I was supposed to be there this past weekend, except for not having any travel money. Have fun, hope you get to see some shows!

Love the poem, like a grownup version of "Goodnight Moon."

christina said...

lovely words of thanks.
have a most safe, and enjoyable trip, my friend.
xo

who said...

Look out People!

when they have lady bugs riding on the shoulders or in their hair it doesn't have to be a full moon to be complete madness

Laura Paine Carr said...

Have a wonder filled vacation! And, after having read your beautiful Mother's Day post, I just want to tell you again, I LOVE YOUR WRITING.

@ctors Business said...

Thank you Ruth! Bon voyage.

Deborah said...

Have a great time, Ruth - that's a place I'd love to go to.

Daniel Chérouvrier said...

Bon voyage et merci Ruth !

Lorenzo — Alchemist's Pillow said...

And thank you dear Ruth. Enjoy swinging in the big apple!

Susan said...

Thank you for that lovely little benediction! Have a wonderful visit with Lesley and Brian and say give my regards to Broadway, will ya? Be safe, my dear friend.

Susan said...

Um, forgot a comma. ;)

Barry said...

Have a safe trip Ruth. May it be as enjoyable as your poem.

Ginnie Hart said...

Ohhhh. Happy Mother's Day! Watch out for all the bikes. Pay attention. Pas op. I know you are thankful for all the little things. It's because you are that you are also blessed with the big things. It's a law of the Universe.

Arti said...

I can tell your excitement from your lively poem. Have a wonderful trip and enjoy the Cartier-Bresson exhibit. I look forward to some beautiful posts on NYC. Bon Voyage!

Oh said...

poem and pictures ! You're awesome. And I'm sure your trip to NYC is also aweseome - can't wait to hear about it!

PeterParis said...

You have learnt to say "thanks"! We should all learn that! I guess that this post should help.

Have a nice trip to the magic city!

Unknown said...

Yippee skippeeee! We are so thankful that you will be here with us for a few days! I noticed your photo at "small", my matching glass broke. :( But I bought some new glasses from Anthro to replace, they are amazing! I want to buy more. So looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!! I will hug you and kiss you.

GailO said...

...and thank you for sharing this wonderful poem Ruth!...here are some words I would never have strung together which are absolutely perfect...pearls:)..I just loved saying these words out loud...an ode to joy:)

Have a wonderful time in NYC...I am a bit jealous...

cathyswatercolors said...

yeah, happy vacation. ENJOY!

C.M. Jackson said...

lovely post--have a wonderful trip!

renaye said...

be grateful in life is good. =)

Ruth said...

Thank you, Pauline, still smiling from your Magpie frozen face poem. :)

Ruth said...

Hi there, Anet, it seems like ages! Thank you, my friend. (But I don't picture you overlooking anything, big or small.)

Ruth said...

Thank you, Deb.

Even though NYC is an easy trip, I didn't go much before Lesley moved there. Now I try to get there once a year. It's nice to find different things to do, and I'm looking forward to that a lot.

Ruth said...

Thank you, Marcie, I'll be looking for small things in the big apple.

Ruth said...

Thank you, CottageGirl, very much! I'll see them tonight, I can hardly wait. They already have reservations at the Tao (http://www.taorestaurant.com/) for Saturday. And otherwise, on my own tomorrow, and with Lesley Friday and Saturday, we will find small out of the way places, which are the best.

Ruth said...

I get that, Loring. And it always ends up costing more than you think. So glad I had that little photo shoot for some pocket money.

Funny, Don said the same thing about this poem and "Goodnight Moon." :)

Vagabonde said...

Have a great time in New York, it is such a great city. We just came back from a week in Baltimore and we had a lot of fun there. I had been there in the 60s and 90s but it has changed – for the better. We refused to rent a car and walked all over Baltimore with our 3 years old and 1 ½ years old toddler grandsons in their stroller. When I came back I saw I had 885 posts to read from all my blogging friends, and also those I read but who never come to mine. I am down to 510 so I need to hurry up reading so I can post on my own blog soon. I read all your posts. Mother’s Day in France is always the last Sunday of May, so it will be on 30th May this year. My mother was born today, May 12, in 1910. She would have been 100 today. I cannot really think of anything about my mother that bothered me, she was an exceptional woman. I shall do a post on her this month (I did one last year on her birthday but am behind this year, maybe I'll do one on French Mother's Day.) Eight brothers and sisters in your family - that must have been so many kids around you all the time. I was mostly alone. But if they were all like Ginnie, then you must have had a lot of fun.
As for the simple life – I think you can find it around you anywhere. I find it in Paris, sitting on a bench in front of the Seine. We found it in Baltimore, walking up Federal Hill and watching the harbor and the seagulls. This morning I saw it in the wild roses climbing up a tree and blooming all over. Or two weeks ago at the Farm in Tennessee looking over a meadow kept as a wildlife habitat. Nature and wildlife are the center of the simple life I think. You have the gift of writing with simplicity about the important moments in life. Enjoy yourself in the big apple.

* said...

I enjoyed the details in this: the fingertips, the lips, the metamorphosis.

Enjoy NYC, one of my fave cities in the world.

myonlyphoto said...

Oh Ruth you reminded me my little Matthew, lol, he thanks every one too, thank you water, thank you door, thank you broom, thank you garage door. He thanks everything one he is done with it, lol. Ruth have a great vacation, enjoy every minute, and again this is very nice poem that put smile on my face. Thank you. Anna :)

Bob Johnson said...

Awesome Ruth, especially the ragged edge of Moon part,lol.

margie said...

enjoy enjoy enjoy

Gwen Buchanan said...

A poem in Simplicity ... Thank you.. and my best

Anonymous said...

a simple, beautiful thank you.

Montag said...

Wonderful and concise, but the most extraordinary intricate polished stone of beauty for me is still at the bottom: clouds are my mountains.

Your own private Himalaya!

caroldiane said...

yes, yes, I agree with all the comments - fabulous poem, very evocative and delightful. Enjoy your vacation!

Ruth said...

Thank you, sweet Christina, gorgeous love woman. xoxo

Ruth said...

Thanks, Pat!

Ruth said...

Don't worry, Dusty, I'm not too dangerous.

Ruth said...

Thank you so much, Laura. I am also touched by your kindness, and your Mother's Day post-post. Beautiful family, and fortunate to have you. Very.

Ruth said...

Thank you, Gwei Mui. I'm here in NYC quietly typing to you while the kids sleep. I'm closer to you here. So strange.

Ruth said...

Hi, Deborah, thank you. It's early and the kids aren't up yet. Lesley and I have a full day planned, the sun is shining, quite unlike the rain that was forecasted. Me so glad.

Ruth said...

Merci, Daniel! Quack from NYC. :)

Ruth said...

Thank you, kind Lorenzo.

Bella Rum said...

Hope you're having fun in NYC. We'll be there next week. Safe return, Ruth.

Ruth said...

Susie Q yet-to-be-discovered-entertainer, I gave your regards crisscrossing Broadway several times. :D

Ruth said...

Barry, thanks, it was safe and great fun (though I did fall down hard once). :|

Ruth said...

Boots, I'm back home now from NYC. I tried consciously to focus on small things there. It was good to be aware of what was around me. I'm getting better at it. I didn't get hit by a bike, but I did get hit by the sidewalk. I have no idea how I fell, but I did, hard, right on the camera. Thank goodness the Nikon acted like armor and didn't break, nor did my ribs.

Ruth said...

Arti, thank you, my friend. I'm back home now, trying to absorb the 3 days in the City. For some reason this trip caused me a lot of introspection. Have to let that work its course. No doubt it will come out here somehow. But yes, I'll post on the trip soon.

Ruth said...

Oh, I'm home. I'm beat. I'm happy. You'll hear about it.

Ruth said...

Merci, Peter, I am back, and now you are gone. You are gone a lot these days, I hope all is well. I'm thankful for you, my friend.

Ruth said...

Wesrey, well you did, and we did. And I drank from those pretty glasses, a nice dry white. Oh sweetie, I miss you already.

ds said...

Perfect poem, especially after your last post. Glad you enjoyed the Big Apple, but sad about the sidewalk jumping up to hit you. Will look forward to whatever thoughts you choose to share.

Ruth said...

Oliag, the way you put that made me so happy. Thank you.

Ruth said...

Thanks, Cath, I'm back and happy for a perfect trip, with just a couple hiccups.

Ruth said...

Thanks, C.M.. I'm back, and it was wonderful.

rauf said...

Hi Loring, i am in the same kind of boat but my boat is leaking.

Ruth, back in Coorg before leaving i used to say goodbye to all the trees, chicken cows and calves. I used to thank the rock on which we used to sit and sing.

Hope you enjoyed the city life

Ruth said...

Renaye, yes. I know you are grateful for your bus driver. :)

Ruth said...

Dear Vagabonde, welcome back. Bless you for the close attention you pay to your blog friends. I'm astonished at the number, but maybe I shouldn't be, knowing that you have thousands of books in your home.

I love your two posts about the 1960s. No wonder you appreciate simple things. That is what you kept from those days, when young people fought for simplicity, getting back to Nature. I utterly agree with you, that Nature and wildlife are the center of the simple life, even though they are more complex than anything I can imagine.

I had a wonderful 3 days with my daughter and her husband. I'll post about it soon.

Ruth said...

Thank you, Terresa, poet. I am back, I did enjoy very much.

Ruth said...

Sweet Anna, yes, I can picture your Matthew doing that. Your eloquent birthday gift to him is sitting in my head and heart, fresh. Thank you for it, I feel moved like I can't explain.

Ruth said...

Hi, Bob, my sky-watching friend. Thank you. :)

Ruth said...

Thank you, Margie. I did I did I did.

Ruth said...

So nice to see you, Gwen. xoxo

Ruth said...

Kamana, thank you, my friend.

Ruth said...

my dear Montag, your words are a gift of joy.

Ruth said...

Thank you, Caroldiane, it's so good to see you again.

Ruth said...

Bella, good, have fun watching your son run, and everyone else too. Love your empty beach vacation, mmmmm.

Ruth said...

Hi there, my dear DS. Do you know, I wanted to visit Henry James somehow? But in my meager looking, I didn't find a museum or way to see where he lived. Maybe on another visit.

Yes, my rib hurts this morning. :(

Dutchbaby said...

Yes, "Goodnight Moon" all the way. Do you think the cow jumped over the Big Apple too? Welcome home; I'm glad you didn't break a rib and I hope you had a chance to stroll in Central Park.

Ruth said...

rauf, so often I picture you tending the chicks growing up. Now I picture you saying goodbye to those things, so sweet. You used to sit and sing, on a rock? Glorious!

I enjoyed the city, rauf, but I didn't want to stay. Maybe it's hard to adjust when you aren't there in the formative years. I got sensory overload.

Ruth said...

Dutchbaby, apparently so. I just gave my new great niece a book called Good Night, New York on Saturday. :) We did stroll for a couple hours in the park that day. I will write about it soon.