And if I didn’t avail myself
of all the gifts of the day —
if I saw the lifting light of afternoon
but didn’t venture out,
if I saw the pink of eastern clouds
hint of splendid setting in the west
but stayed inside

I still enjoyed the coziness,
the being warm and dry,
the light and heat
available at fingertips

I still enjoyed the prospect
of a peace so unassailable
that everyone, so gratefully
would sink, delighted, in,
cradled, welcomed, and redeemed,
and thus made new.

©Wendy Mulhern
March 7, 2019