This I need to remember

When I am looking back
from the perch of old age,
this is what I need to remember:

Every morning
in the spring, summer and fall,
I would get my coffee and notebook
and sit on the back porch,
surrounded by green.

Every morning,
my husband would get his coffee
and roam the yard,
looking in on his garden,
checking the chickens for eggs,
surveying his bit of paradise.

I will realize fully then
the luxury of such rituals,
the extravagance,
depth, and richness
of a life where one can hesitate
in the morning
to breathe in
the beauty of a day.

By Maria Brady-Smith
Photo by Mike Smith