View Article

By Christine Rose Hazuka,  

--Albany, NY

I am grateful for this day

and that I can still see all the beauties around me.

My choice is not to view the disrespectful,

hateful things on television.

I am grateful to have ears that hear all of nature’s sounds,

my friend’s and family’s voices

and the music that I love, so needed for me to hear.

I am grateful for my senses to still be alive and working.

I can smell the rains coming,

the strange smell of moth balls that no one else smells

that remind me of my mother.

Strangely I love the smell of manure

and fresh-cut grains of the fields.

I still can feel, with my hands, the softness of a kitten

or a pup and flower petals all around.

I can still write my thoughts and share with my voice.

I feel pain in my heart when someone is hurt and suffering.

I am grateful for all these things that my creator has given me.  

Author's Note: A member of the Albany, NY Community Outreach Program within the Zaloga Post American Legion