I wake this morning
well before dawning,
caught in thoughts
that must have walked
through my dreaming:

work, mostly,
judging by the jumbling
going on at the moment
of my waking.

There is a certain amount
of taking and giving
in this living of choices,
listening to others’ voices
and hoping
to make the best
even of bad situations.

It is possible,
so I’ve heard,
that there are things
too easily taken for granted,
and people as well
sometimes slip
into that category.

I do know
that four months of limping,
of gimping up and down steps,
has left me with a new appreciation
of good knees,
even though I haven’t
had a pair of those
since God knows when.

But nearly every day
for the last week-and-a-half
has brought some measure of improvement.

And even when we fall short of “good,”
“better” should always yield
a certain amount of gratitude.

H. Arnett
2/3/16