Flat Gratitude

A poem.

Flat Gratitude

Nothing is so slippery as
the algae that cover
the rocks in the shallows

Flipped me on my back
so fast I lost my breath

The waiting stone had
a wide curve that
hugged the S of my spine

I lay stunned into
gratitude for falling on
the right rock
when the water was not too cold

I'd never have seen the brilliant swath of
cloud rimmed in gold,
a lancet through thick grays –
but for the algae and
the wide gap in
my respect for it
– Katherine Hauswirth