Mixed Blessings

Thanksgiving Day, 2010

The turkey’s in the oven. My bare feet
rest on the windowsill. A welcome breeze
wafts past ten gnarled toes, a late fall treat.
The forecast says tonight it’s going to freeze.

A new computer sits with darkened screen,
with bells and whistles I don’t want or need,
while I fire up the five-year-old machine
that suits my comfort zone (except for speed).

Two years ago our son lay gravely ill.
We spent Thanksgiving day in ICU.
They say adversity that doesn’t kill?
you makes you stronger. I can prove it’s true.

My cup’s half full; I haven’t drained it yet.
Mixed blessings are the only kind you get.

—Carol A. Taylor

Image by James Palinsad licensed via Creative Commons. Image cropped. 

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

Is Churchill America’s Hero? (ft. Sean McMeekin)

R. R. Reno

In this episode, Sean McMeekin joins R. R. Reno on The Editor’s Desk to talk about his…

The West Distorted

Sebastian Milbank

G. K. Chesterton’s novel The Flying Inn begins with a strange seaside encounter involving one Misysra Ammon,…

Does Just War Doctrine Require Moral Certainty?

Edward Feser

Pope Leo XIV has made it clear that the U.S. war on Iran does not, in his…