This is my Thankful Prayer

-Lynne Hinton

This is my thankful prayer

of waking up in my warm oversized bed

my beloved up before dawn, the coffee brewing in the kitchen down the hall

my other companion curled at my feet, still asleep.

This is my thankful prayer

for clean running water and the ease of indoor plumbing, heat popping in the pipes,

electricity, the ordinariness of paying bills

for healthy legs running the length of dry ditches

to a river flowing past without me needing to push.

This is my thankful prayer

for the smell of freshly mowed hay

in my landlord’s back pasture

the warbled song of sand hill cranes

their grey bodies circling high above in a desert sky

the tease of morning sun behind dappled mountains

the taste of hot buttered toast

the cans of food stacked in the pantry.

This is my thankful prayer

of faith taught at my grandmother’s knees

promises that I am not forgotten

and never will be

hope that I might learn to love

in proper heavenly perfection

This is my thankful prayer

for cottonwoods all aglow in gold

and horses munching straw

for simple nights under a blanket of planets and stars

and glasses of beer

and a heart cup full and running over.

This is my thankful prayer

and in sharing it with you, I’ve shared it with God

and it has become a dance of sorts.

and what I know is that dancing has always been and

will always be

my best Thankful Prayer.

Happy Thanksgiving! And I invite you to write your own Thankful Prayer and share it with me!

You are the light of the world!

Yours,

Lynne