A Thousand Mornings

by Mary Oliver

Is a prayer a gift, or a petition, or does it matter?

I wouldn’t persuade you from whatever you believe or whatever you don’t. That’s your business.

I am so glad to be alive, I am so glad to be loving and loved. Even if I were close to the finish, even if I were at my final breath, I would be here to take a stand, bereft of such astonishments, but for them.