I Woke Up Grateful

I woke up grateful

because good is the only power

and in my struggle

against all that is evil,

I don’t need to take

a mean-spirited stance,

don’t need to commune

with comeuppance

or deal in retaliation,

don’t need disgust

or even indignation

I woke up grateful

that the best I can do

is to fill my soul with

the presence of goodness.

When fighting hate with love,

love is what counts

Love effortlessly deconstructs

the structures of oppression,

love casts no one as villain

but liberates us all

from the mazes of pain

I woke up grateful

that the work of my day

is so joyful, so boundless —

to let Love lead me,

to eagerly follow.

©Wendy Mulhern

December 10, 2016