thankfulness requires perspective

I am thankful when the sun blinds me and startles me awake;

we haven't stopped the world from turning,

and although overly chipper, I am greeted just the same.

***

I am thankful that I can look upon a blurry world;

my eyes opened again this morning,

appreciative of the abstract watercolor before me.

***

I am thankful for the stiffness and pain,

because I'm still alive and I can feel it;

better to hurt than to never move again.

***

I am thankful for the vulgar curses,

only in the sense of what else I can hear

such as the just-for-me concert blaring through my earbuds.

***

I am thankful for the extra bit of burden

since it means I'm fortunate enough to work

in a world where it can be hard to find.

***

I am thankful my mind races in the middle of the night;

it sucks when it keeps me up,

but oh, the brilliant things it comes up with sometimes.

***

I am thankful for the bad and the less-than-perfect;

once I've ran it all through the filters or climbed to the top of it all,

there it is, a whole lot of good, in the dark, dark sea.

***