Starting the Year With Gratitude + Credo Poems
If you’re like me, you could come up with a big list of New Year’s resolutions. Maybe you already have. I decided to start with a list of gratitudes. It seems like this is what I need right now, more than a syllabus of all the things I should do and change this year.
For probably everyone in the world, the last two years have been, at best, somewhat of a blur and, at worst, horribly traumatic. So let’s instead look at poems that praise the everyday goodness of life.
The first that comes to mind is Ross Gay’s Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, which is probably my favorite poem title ever and is also the title of the book in which it appears. It’s a long poem full of humor and gravitas, little things and profound things, and one of my favorite parts is this:
Thank you to the woman barefoot in a gaudy dress
for stopping her car in the middle of the road
and the tractor trailer behind her, and the van behind it,
whisking a turtle off the road.
Thank you god of gaudy.
“The Joy Bringer” by Thomas Lux is another poem that catalogs gratitude, crediting a being called the joy bringer for many things including:
the chilled artesian water
spilling from a pipe only two inches above the ground,
from which you drank on your hands and knees,
on a few boards or branches, you bowed in the muck and drank
that sweet cold reaching-up.
You’ll find that poem in his wonderful book God Particles.
I also love this simple yet mighty poem in which the poet Donna Hilbert exclaims her credo, which Merriam-Webster defines as “a guiding belief or principle.” Notice the detail she includes to bring readers into the scenes of her life – scenes that could easily be part of our lives, too. Hilbert’s credo poem demonstrates its own kind of gratitude.
Credo Poems
Credo
I believe in the Tuesdays
and Wednesdays of life,
the tuna sandwich lunches
and TV after dinner.
I believe in coffee with hot milk
and peanut butter toast,
Rose wine in summer
and Burgundy in winter.
I am not in love with holidays,
birthdays—nothing special—
and weekends are just days
numbered six and seven,
though my love
dozing over TV golf
while I work the Sunday puzzle
might be all I need of life
and all I ask of heaven.
—Donna Hilbert
After reading that poem, I was inspired to write my own credo poem.
Credo
—after Donna Hilbert
I believe in the wakings
and sleepings of life,
afternoon naps where I dream
I’m in Bali again in the Monkey Forest,
a palm-sized baby reaching
with hairless human fingers
for the banana in my daughter’s hand.
I count on slow boat rides
with friends on warm weekends
or the wave-smacks of pulling
kids on tubes and wakeboards.
Squeals skim the lake until
fireworks star the sky.
Then it’s the winding downs,
the heading upstairs. The sips of merlot,
while my love and I settle
into a BBC mystery,
shoulders touching, legs stretched
together on the ottoman.
I have faith in my daughter’s
phone calls from Singapore,
her toast crunching
while I’m turning off lights,
tucking in the dogs.
My night, her morning.
And she is rising.
I take comfort in believing
the Ubud healer’s words to me,
You’re healthy and know how to love.
—Karen Paul Holmes
from No Such Thing as Distance
Your Turn
What’s your favorite joyful or gratitude poem? Please share it by pasting it or linking to it in a comment below. Or… how about writing a credo poem of your own?
(Note, if you plan on submitting your unpublished poem to a journal, please be advised it will be considered previously published if you post it here. Publications like Every Day Poems, however, gladly welcome previously published work! A good poem is a good poem, after all. Worthy of being experienced again.)
Photo by Marco Nürnberger, Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Karen Paul Holmes, 2022 Tweetspeak Poet Laura and author of No Such Thing as Distance. “Credo” by Donna Hilbert is from The Green Season (2nd edition, World Parade Books, 2012). Used with permission. (You can read Donna’s latest work in her brand new book Threnody.)
In her former life, Karen was VP-Communications at a global financial services corporation, and she now works as a freelance business writer and consultant. Her ghost-written articles have appeared in many industry publications under executive bylines.
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Megan Willome says
One of my beloved gratitude poems is Tracy K. Smith’s The Good Life, which I chose for our December By Heart selection.
Thanks for the prompt and for introducing me to three new-to-me poems.
Here’s my Credo, drawn from Hilbert’s and yours:
I believe in tea
poetry—read and written—
long walks in the dark
I am not in love
with meat, cities, hand-wringing,
and too much sunshine
I count on empty
chapels, on friendships built small
and oh so slowly
I have faith, yes, in
suffering and in sorrow
as the road we take
and in you, my love,
in our loves together, all
I need of heaven
Sandra Heska King says
Love this!
Karen Paul Holmes says
Yes, I love that simple poem by Tracy K. Smith! And thank you for sharing yours. “I count on empty / chapels, on friendships build small” — just lovely!
Bethany R. says
“all/ I need of heaven”
Glad you shared this, Megan. 🙂
Glenda C. Beall says
Touching and beautiful.
Sandra Heska King says
I bought my a One Line a Day book this year. (Amazon says it’s my 4th one.) I threw the other 3 away cuz I didn’t even make it through January of the first year in any of them. I’m determined this year to follow through this time. Or at least I’m hoping to. There’s room to actually write more than one line, and I resolved to make the last line a line of gratitude.
I love Mary Oliver’s “Messenger.” It’s the first poem in her book, “Thirst”… and is actually printed in Amazon’s preview. It’s also perfect for Poetry at Work Day. 🙂
My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird –
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.
Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,
which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all ingredients are here,
Which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.
Karen Paul Holmes says
So gorgeous!
Karen Paul Holmes says
And, here’s to writing at least one line!
Bethany R. says
Such a treat to read all of this. That last stanza is something else, my friend. And I was also especially drawn to,
“The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.”
I <3 the pasture (or meadow).
L.L. Barkat says
This is such an inspiring post, Karen. Thank for it. (And, you got me writing. A clear indication that the inspiration is long and wide! 🙂 )
Credo. January 5th, 2022
—after Megan Willome, after Karen Paul Holmes, after Donna Hilbert
I believe in the trees
for which I have no names—
candelabra tree at the rise of the empty field path,
silver-ghost-leaves-painted-against-the-pewter-sky tree,
grey-dress tree with impossible amber bells
ringing silent on a Hudson River shore,
tree that clings to the cracked rocks where the summer water beads,
take-cover trees that hid a year of secret discovery.
Who could not have faith under the cloak of you, Emerald-Dark Weeping Tree
at the turn of the cobblestone lane, where horses once delivered ladies
to evenings at a mansion taken down and moved?
Love-Tree who tangled yourself in yourself
on the road by the river that always overflows in spring.
Tree Where the Hundred Sparrows Sing whether in sun or shade.
Even the Albino Tree (West coast, redwood, old)
I’ve heard tell of … but not yet found.
Karen Paul Holmes says
Wow, Laura, I love all those tree descriptions as tree names! Beautiful, and how happy I am to have inspired you!
Bethany R. says
Love how you give names to the trees, especially that “candelabra tree” and the “grey-dress tree with impossible amber bells.” Reminds me of something Anne of Green Gables would appreciate. 😉
deb y felio says
To my ancestral saints who passed on the ain’ts
when naming what to be grateful for
not comparing the haves of their neighbors
but the at least it isn’ts that balance the score
when the rain leaks through the roof, causing repair efforts to doubt
the reply is “grab a bucket, at least we’re not in a drought!”
when the cupboards are bare except for crackers and butter
“it’s delicious – at least it’s not from the gutter”
the teenager is ill, in bed aching and listless
at least it isn’t worry, wondering where he is
the car breaks down for the thirteenth time, causing a traffic jam
At least it isn’t in the middle of the night – leaving us on the lam
I was scared and scratched up when on ice I slipped
then was reminded at least it wasn’t the apocalypse
We don’t have any pedigrees, no college education
At least it isn’t our common sense lost in translation
When you’ve come through a lot with not much to spare
we’ve learned to be grateful for what at least isn’t there.
Karen Paul Holmes says
Deb, thanks for sharing this tongue-in-cheek poem. I assume it’s your poem? I love your sense of humor in lines like this: “then was reminded at least it wasn’t the apocalypse,” especially when rhymed with “slipped.”
deb y felio says
Thanks, Karen! Yes. It’s my poem – hoping to bring a smile!
lynn__ says
You definitely made ME smile…thanks!
debbie felio says
“that’s what it’s all about!
Donna J Hilbert says
What a pleasure to read these poems and comments.
Karen Paul Holmes says
Yes!
Bethany R. says
I agree, Donna. Glad you stopped by to read and share your reaction. 🙂
lynn__ says
“An attitude of gratitude”
may seem a simple platitude
But learning to appreciate
small blessings given makes life great
Give thanks for colored leaves on trees
give thanks for buzzing honey bees
I’m grateful to be breathing air
i’m thankful my niece cuts my hair
Sneak sniff of flower petals sweet
taste gladly everything you eat
Give thanks for babies’ soft new skin
give thanks for sleep each night again
Be happy for bright shining stars
take care of Earth, can’t live on Mars
We give our thanks to God above
for sharing His abundant love
Increase your joy, expand your mind
count every blessing you can find!
Hey, look at that…i even rhymed 🙂
Bethany R. says
Lynn, I like your note to, “take care of Earth, can’t live on Mars,” and that is so sweet about your niece cutting your hair (if you are in fact the same person as the Speaker of the poem). 😉
lynn__ says
I am 🙂 thanks for your response to my scribbles!
Karen Paul Holmes says
Lynn, thanks for posting your cheerful poem!
lynn__ says
My pleasure, Karen, and thanks to YOU for serving as TS “Poet Laura”.
Rick Maxson says
I wrote this several years ago.
Credo
This is the best I can do:
that day in the blackberries,
the copperhead,
its scales like fallen leaves,
motionless, under the green briars,
under the blue sky.
It was when I drew blood in the brambles
and it dropped on the snake
that I noticed him, so still,
and I thought of you,
hiding in the distant field,
in the grasses and pied sycamores.
I heard you, in the frail air,
circling like a hawk, a suture
binding heaven and earth.
This is how I believe,
between dim moonlight
and the ferocity of the sun.
You need not speak to beckon me,
but today in the thorns,
I think I felt your touch.
Karen Paul Holmes says
wow, what an interesting poem — such images! Thank you, Rick.
Bethany R. says
Evocative poem, Rick. Creates such texture and sets a mood that lingers. I’m glad you shared it here with the community and that I got to read it.
Bethany R. says
Karen, what an inspiring post you’ve written here. Thanks so much.
I love the featured poem you shared! I have to write down the name of that and keep it. I’m so with the speaker, “I believe in the “Tuesdays/ and Wednesdays of life.”
And then your lovely poem~I can see those little fingers and feel the “wave-smacks of pulling/ kids on tubes and wakeboards.”
Karen Paul Holmes says
Bethany, thank you for being an engaged reader with this post and the comments/poems others shared. So nice of you to give a close reading and share your thoughts!
Gloria Heffernan says
Hi,
Gratitude is one of my favorite topics. This poem is from my microchap, “Moonset,” which appears on the Origami Poem Project’s website:
Gratitude
You ask me to count my blessings—
Easier to ask an ant
to count the petals of a peony.
Circumnavigating her pink planet,
she scales the supple landscape,
each petal revealing
a new surface to explore.
She will always lose count,
so lost in that sweet nectar.
I am that ant,
drunk on the sweetness
that surrounds me,
grateful for every blessing,
but powerless
to count that high.
Gloria Heffernan
Karen Paul Holmes says
Gloria, thank you for sharing your sweet poem! “She will always lose count,
so lost in that sweet nectar.”
Glenda C. Beall says
Karen, I am so glad I read your post here. My word for this year is gratitude. After all I have seen and endured lately, I am able to find much for which I am grateful. You have inspired me. I think I will write a poem about gratitude.
Karen Paul Holmes says
Glenda, it’s always heartwarming to hear that I inspired someone to write! I know your poem will be a good one, as usual. Take care, my friend!
Katie Spivey Brewster says
I believe in hugs
both short and long
In atta-boy
and you-go-girl
In gifts for occasions
or no reason at all
In quality time
as well as plenty of it
In actions that say
you matter
In giving of self
with generosity
I believe we all can make a difference
if we just pay attention and try
Karen Paul Holmes says
Thanks for sharing, Katie. I love the idea of “hugs, both short and long.”
Katie Spivey Brewster says
Thank you, Karen:)