108 sun salutations
Bernie, who reads all his library books in the car on the way home
John, who is still excited to see me
Jennifer, who takes care of them and reminds them to love
Gretchen, who has somehow decided not to run away
these four weird walls that surround me and keep me dry and cool
Tina, who gave me a place to land and come in out of the storm
Patrick, who appreciates
Andrea, for many things, including Herman Hesse’s name
Emily, who finds new ways to care
poetry, for giving me a deep well to fill
poetry again, for giving me something to fill it with
music, for repeatedly saving my life
Rachel, who offered me a room of my own
Josh, for inspiration
New York City, in which place I am, finally, at home
my Selmer Mark VI soprano saxophone, for all the years we had together
Kate, for showing me what’s possible
Orion, for being there in the sky even when I forget
Walt, because a blade of grass isn’t just a blade of grass
Nikki, for drawing beauty from pain
Nicky, even though
Matt, for lifting us out of our seats with a snare drum and a smile
Andrea, who remembers what it is to be human
Ken, who puzzles and puzzles till his puzzler is sore
Sally, for apples and peanut butter and a heart like a galaxy
Julie, who smiles even though she knows a lot, or maybe because she does
Sean, whom I’ve never met but feel like I know already
David, for being a good listener
Kevin, for all those odd meters back in the day
Jenn, who is never afraid of the truth
my ears, for not yet giving out
whoever came up with writing
and also whoever came up with language; that was smart
Chelsea, who ignites
Jill, who put Ace Frehley in my bed
Connie, who understood why Walt mattered
Mike, who pushed when I needed pushing
Otto, who understands old souls
Daryl, for food and music and a safe haven
F____, even though
Danny, who does the right thing
Douglas
my eyes, which can’t really see colors, but notice other things
Stevie, because come on, he’s Stevie!
Josh, who keeps the bullshit at bay
Jonathan, for his futon and more
Richard, who has supported the adventure
Matt, for hours of good conversation
David, for singing truth to power
Geoffrey, for reconnecting
Maria, for melody and understanding
Alan, the bird without wings
Carmen, for everthing
risk, without which this would all be so boring
Arielle, for giving me the idea
Sparky, for singing
Cash, for knowing who’s boss (not me)
Rome, for believing
Toni, who sees the good in everyone
this tummy, which apparently digs food a bit more than it should
Carolee, who was there when it mattered
Jill, who writes and dresses better than I do
Avery, who gets it
Dan, who gave me excellent advice
Kim, for wisdom
Andrew, who makes me want to think more
Muhammad Ali, who is the greatest
Lenny, who turned everything around
Naomi, who instantly understood
Scott, whose heart is not wounded
Dave, up there on the mountain
miso soup
Reiko, who was my mom when I needed her to be
Steve, who brought the air weed
Bernard, for the swing
Dorothy, who, at the end, uncovered her heart
Amy, who is a muse
Alyson, even though
Mr. Gautama, who figured out something important
Lindsay, who knows what’s ridiculous and why
Sarah, for the birthday song
Brad, who speaks my language
Art, for half
Linda, for those glowing balls of light
Todd, for KISS and Nova
Lynne, for remembering
Jack, for the nursery rhymes
Chuck, for the canal
Bob, for waving
Wade, for shooting stars and the Moody Blues
Jennifer, for being the first
Wendy, who didn’t follow
tofu, which brings magic happy
Jeff, even though
Don, who’s delightful
Hayden, whose words seeped in
Albert, who makes things out of nothing
Kurt, and so it goes
the sun, which is useful and lovely
the moon, which I’ve always been drawn to
Dan, who treated us like people
gravity, even though I don’t quite know how it works
Lenox, which still feels like a dream
sembe, which may be the best thing on Earth
sweet tea, which is a close second
John, for making me want to play deeper
you, for reading this
me, because I’m still here
21 June 2013
Auburn AL
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Arielle, who is the subject of my yoga series this month, mentioned today that she and many others are performing 108 sun salutations (a basic yoga sequence) to welcome summer. I thought I could do something similar, so I though of 108 things and people for whom I’m grateful. Of course there are many, many others.
