Let Us Rejoice

Here is the day that the day has made.
There went the friends under the shade tree
Examining fallen apples, words,
Ways of approaching one's weaknesses.

There went the child like Peter Rabbit
Loose in someone else's flower bed,
Collecting poppies and violets
And then somersaulting in the grass.

There went the long phone conversation,
Unintended, sweet, and comforting
After the spider leapt from the sink
In the house that was misbehaving.

There went the sun hour by the lakeshore
With books and snacks, after the errands.
A few things went as planned, more or less,
But better things hid in surprises.

Life's more random than any sampler,
But it's on us we can't love it more
For that, which defies all our efforts
To maximize charms, minimize spills.

Every day we flagellate ourselves
With fresh imaginary futures,
And every day our actual pasts
Find little new ways to forgive us.