today

Look around—
When news is bleak
When world is frozen, hunched over,
look for light, for warmth,
for joy or the memory of joy—
street lights and porch lights and headlights
shining in the valley,
your love’s smile, those blue eyes,
how your toddler child felt in your arms once upon a time.
Or look at the bowl of clementines
glowing in their orange coats
while a sweet dog nuzzles the back of your knees,
A candle lit,
A laughing friend,
A delicious dinner, delicious book,
delicious date on the calendar to anticipate,
to mark with a smile.
None of it saves the world today.
Notice and say thank you anyway
and you can save this moment,
here in your heart in the hard world
Your heart, which is always the place where you live