SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE BEEN HERE

SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE BEEN HERE

(A THANKSGIVING POEM)

So grateful to have been here,
To have walked Earth's joyful mile,
To have tasted both the love and fear,
To celebrate the tear and smile.
To have held the hand of many a friend,
To have held my lover sweet and fine,
So grateful to have been here,
For the rose and for the wine.

So grateful to have crossed the threshold,
To days of such sweet elegance,
To be welcomed back into the fold,
Just watch me do my happy dance.
Dyskinetic it may be,
I may not do it perfectly,
And there's a chance that I could fall,
I'll take the chance and risk it all.

The universe has loosed its purse strings,
Like manna falling from the skies,
The eagle soars and spreads its wings,
And like the eagle I will fly.
So grateful to have been here,
Just like Fortune's favorite son,
I've had my share of pain and cheer,
Have tasted both like everyone.

I am richer for the struggle,
I am grateful for the pain,
I have seen the keenest rainbows,
In the sky after a summer rain.
I can tell you life is sweet,
And though I'm sometimes sour,
I boogie to a hopeful beat,
I trust in my own power.

At this time in late November, when we pause in thoughtful mood,
I join the ranks and give my thanks with praise and gratitude.
For more than just a mighty feast, from north to south from west to east.
I say a humble sacred prayer for hearts encumbered everywhere,
For in the midst of fear and strife, there is promise of new life.
Let us seize it while we can, each precious grain of sand
That pours forth from the hourglass, let us taste life while it lasts.

For me life may be winding down,
Who really knows for sure?
All we are promised is the now,
The present moment is the cure.
The antidote to sorrow and to things that could have been,
No one knows the Master's plan, when life begins and ends.

So grateful to have been here, for the elements of style,
For the passion and the fashion alive in every smile.
To have been around for just awhile, to have tasted cool fresh air,
To have known the rush of ecstasy, the downward spiral of despair.
I have known it all and cherished each measured, sacred breath,
When all it has been said and done, I will have tasted death.

I will have crossed to the other side and seen God's precious face,
Joined with those that have passed before me to this special place.
Happier for the lives I touched in my precious time on earth,
Happier still that they touched mine with merriment and mirth.
Richer for the days gone by, for the privilege of a lifetime,
So grateful to have been here, for the rose and for the wine.

-Bruce Potts
Copyright 2013
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED