It’s the morning light that teaches me gratitude
Everything just as I left it
waiting, fresh and familiar

Out of the window, the dewy-new garden
has grown more beautiful through 
the resting night into the nourishing light

My lovely’s familiar lump in the bed
comforts me that I am still loved
even though he knows me so well

It’s the cats who show me that happiness can be found
in a sunny puddle in the middle of the room

All of this before my first sip of morning coffee
Reminds me that I can still find peace
in this troubled and troubling world

And then into the town
Bombarded by billboards 
urgently shouting to acquire, to escape 
The huge, defiant and angry cars 
The harried people, ears and eyes distracted
willfully absent 

It’s here that I find it hard to keep despair
from stealing my morning’s unruffled ambition