Name: Sarah Chetcuti
Age: 30
Title: Reasons To Be Grateful
My fist slams down,
The laptop jumps in response.
I try deep breaths and
Counting to ten.
One, two, three, four…
Sometimes, I get to a hundred
Without feeling any different
Shoes, coat, keys,
And I’m out the door,
My feet lead the way
Of their own accord.
The afternoon breeze
Plays with a loose strand of hair,
And the familiar swing set,
Comes into view.
I pass the huge oak
And press my palm to its trunk,
Hoping to absorb
Some of its mossy calm.
The flowers tease me
With their playful hues
And unprocessed scents.
The leaves droop overhead,
A canopy of green
Against the setting sun.
The regulars are there;
the man walking his dog,
the girl on the bicycle,
the boy in the wheelchair.
I smile at his mother,
She smiles back,
Kindly but tiredly, wearily,
A mirror to my soul.
I head back then,
My blind fury dissolved,
Its irrational magnitude,
Chastened at last.
With so many reasons to be angry,
Sometimes, it’s easy to forget
All the ones to be grateful.