in response to The Good News by Thich Nhat Hanh
Good news. The ant on your toe does not want to bite you.
He is a traveler on the country of your foot, and he is teaching you
about the borders you have drawn around your kingdom.
Yes, the young sapling beside you has died, but there,
beside it, a new sapling is carrying on what it means to be tree.
The good news is that the daffodils, planted by some unknown hand,
have returned, and they bob their yellow fringe in the wind,
their cups filled with unspillable light.
The goldfinches find food beneath the old spruce.
And the meadowlark has turned the fencepost
into a concert hall.
And more good news. You noticed that there was a line drawn
between us and them, and you, with your ardent mind,
you picked up that line and refashioned it into a spiral.
And in this moment, the good news is that the sun is warm
on your shoulders and your eyes feel like closing and you
let them close.
The good news is that despite the passing hours, the passing years,
there is no end to good news waiting to be found
and you are just beginning to understand how infinite this special edition.