Adelaide Miller

thank you for 
snow-crusted boughs
of trees above 
catching sunlight 
in outstretched
limbs where pine needles
kiss the sky 

and in the clouds
heavy rains
bless the Earth below with 
Heaven’s tears
that leave me
drowning in 
retribution

thank you for
the cold that wraps
around my fingers,
reminding me 
that i am made
of flesh, bone
and muscle tissue

and cardinals
sing winter melodies
to those
who watch
and listen
in the 
brambles 

thank you for
the frost 
that blankets my car 
windows
and readies
the world for
new growth

and I wish
that I could be 
reborn
in the way
the earth is,
fresh in 
sunlight 

thank you for
the melting
snow-ridden
ground that fosters
burgeoning
wildflowers
in its wake

and the 
blossoms
will fill my head 
with pungent 
scents
as they swirl
in the breeze


thank you for
the candle flame
i was born into that
chases away
the dark
with solemn
lullabies 

and a storm
that murmurs 
on the horizon
is tracing 
lightning bolts in the
atmosphere
like stretch marks

thank you for
sweat-slicked 
summers where
i lick the beads of salt 
from my lip 
and miss the 
groggy heat

and cicadas 
emerge from 
spring-time graves
with hymns reaching 
the night sky
in echoes 
to the living

thank you for 
the moon’s charged
touch in the 
reflection 
of a sky
scarred with stars
and comets

and i can
sigh at 
last as i am 
graced 
with the 
world’s 
offerings