Barbara Anger read this poem on Saturday, April 27, 2019, as part of the Tompkins County Public Library Readathon fundraising event.
First thing in the morning
Awake to gratitude.
Squint if it’s a gray day.
You may feel the sun
Inside
You.
Feel the vibrations of
A prayer
On your lips.
Feel the air on your naked body,
Put on something comfortable to wear.
Don’t mind
The old stains
Down the front of your shirt.
The frayed cuffs of your pants
Or the tear along the seam.
Please just let your elbow scrape through that hole.
Put on your old shoes
That hold the shape of your arch
Inside the definition of each toe.
Go out into the air
With a twirl
Find a spot
To stick your fingers
In the rich darkness
Of the soil.
Let the grains of dirt and sand
Run
Through your fingers.
Feel its moisture.
Then remember
You collected milkweed seeds.
Find them on the top shelf
Of your cupboard.
For a moment
Feel the silky
White feathers
Still attached to the seeds
Grab a trowel
Dig deep and wide
Enough for each seed
To sprout
Upward and out
Reaching the sun
Till at the waning of summer
It calls to the monarchs,
“Here I am.
Come find me.
I will help you live forever.”
