FALL

Giving Thanks

by Connie James

Silent we sit on the earth

Faced to the wind, thinking,

now the air will cleanse us,

our bones are bending to it

our hearts enjoy the feeling that we are living

we are alive

Life is in everything and everyone

it is even in the mystery of light that gives us vision

and the dark that gives us rest

Though age comes to the body,

one does not become old

for by the act of giving thanks we are healthy

Brave hearts that try to connect us to each other

plant the treasure that is ready to be enlightened by all that love,

loving souls keeping us living inside and outside through eternity

Blessed be those who give thanks for all that is provided

and remember that the heart is the seat of life

* * * * *

Connie James was raised in the mid-west as well as in Southern California, where she met her husband Bob. They moved to Eugene Oregon in 1955, when Bob got a professorship in the art department at the University of Oregon. Connie raised five children, has helped raise grandchildren, been a docent at local museums, and has been active in her local synagogue. A lover and supporter of art, music, and literature for decades, Connie kept her own work relatively hidden until 2016. At the age of 88 she was published for the first time in May 2016, in the literary magazine “The Elephant”, with her poem “Shekhinah Speaks”. Connie continues to explore her poetic talents, proving to us all that one is never too old to be a poet.

Connie James, being computer illiterate, had this poem submitted for her by her deceased daughter's best friend Amy Ballard Rich.