You gave me this day
And the first shoes
Out of which grew
The sturdy legs that walk it.

You gave me this day:

The poem I breathe

Into the sunshine and grass,

The sky and clouds


Of eternal childhood.

Eternal mother

I take a step, breathe,

And thank you.


For my beautiful mom, Sandra Isbell Wiley Carlson, on the 84th anniversary of her birth.