Thanksgiving seems an ideal time for me to share my gratitude for friendships both new and mature – avoiding that heavily weighted “old” adjective.

There is little I need say about the following poem. It was sent to me by my cousin, a fellow poetry lover. She shares with me gem-like poems she encounters, like found treasures along life’s path. 

Before you lose yourself in the poem, perhaps a word about the poet who distilled so much into these 17 lines.  John Daniels, born in South Carolina and raised in DC, teaches and writes here in the United States.  

A Prayer among Friends

by John Daniel

Among other wonders of our lives, we are alive
with one another, we walk here
in the light of this unlikely world
that isn’t ours for long.
May we spend generously
the time we are given.
May we enact our responsibilities
as thoroughly as we enjoy
our pleasures. May we see with clarity,
may we seek a vision
that serves all beings, may we honor
the mystery surpassing our sight,
and may we hold in our hands
the gift of good work
and bear it forth whole, as we
were borne forth by a power we praise
to this one Earth, this homeland of all we love.

“A Prayer among Friends” by John Daniel, from Of Earth. © Lost Horse Press, 2012. 

Daily, I think of you with gratitude and delight, my patient readers and friends.