Poem: Yes, this too

One of the most powerful prayers
I know is
yes, this too.
Inhabiting our lives fully,
right where we are
means we can discover
bits of beauty everywhere.
Yes, there is struggle
and suffering and pain.
Yes, this too.
There is beauty even here.
For me, it is in scraps of nature
and glimpses of earthly wonder.
The blue sky.
Crows in the median.
Soft pale blooms on a peach tree
by the parking places.
For you, it may be the thin papery skin
on your own hand reminding
you of your grandmother.
The flash of a shared smile.
The way sunlight catches
in the stained glass window
and makes a rainbow
on the scuffed wood floor.
An osprey in flight above an old battlefield.
Buttercups in bloom between headstones.
Yes, this too.
We can find bits of beauty everywhere.