* words in the Slipstream *

The above is a photo of the latest issue of Slipstream – which I am happy to say includes my poem “Burial Clothes”.  A quick leaf through upon opening the package the issue came in introduced me to fine poems by Terry Godbey and Rita Moe.  I’m waiting until the weekend to dig into the rest.

Contributor’s copies are one of the unique treats of getting a poem published.  You get to see who’s in the neighborhood, whose poem lives next door to yours.  The whole thing is humbling as you realize that every page contains a bit of aspiration and a whole bunch of effort.

In that spirit, this week’s poem is all about gratitude.  Marilyn Nelson takes us from chore to genuflection down on a microscopic level, showing how life takes us where life is.

**

Dusting – Marilyn Nelson

Thank you for these tiny
particles of ocean salt,
pearl-necklace viruses,
winged protozoans:
for the infinite,
intricate shapes
of submicroscopic
living things.

For algae spores
and fungus spores,
bonded by vital
mutual genetic cooperation,
spreading their
inseparable lives
from equator to pole.

My hand, my arm,
make sweeping circles.
Dust climbs the ladder of light.
For this infernal, endless chore,
for these eternal seeds of rain:
Thank you. For dust.

**

Happy thanking!

Jose