PO-EMotion #27- Contentment

Screen shot I took from web cam at Warrior Canine Connection, at www.explore.org

April is National Poetry Month. Every year, my dear friend, and Poet Extraordinaire, Mary Lee Hahn, chooses a theme and writes a poem every day. She blogs and posts at two different places- YEAR OF READING and her fabulous new poetry blog, POETREPOSITORY.

This year's theme is PO-EMotions. Mary Lee promises, "I will write a poem a day that either evokes an emotion, or uses an emotion word in the title or body of the poem. Her list of emotions is here. I'm joining her, at least some days.

Today's emotion is contentment. I'm in a Bible study who has been working on the book of Philippians for the past two months. One of the themes from Philippians is contentment, and I woke up this morning thinking about a couple of verses from that study. 


"Contentment"

Contentment,
says Paul,
should lie

not in circumstances

in having plenty
or being in want

in being coupled
with another
who knows your soul
or being
completely
alone

in having children
who listen to their mother
attend college
make wise choices
or those who do not

in having a dishwasher
microwave
lawn mower
that works
or one that doesn't

instead
contentment
comes

from staying focused
and being grateful

for the fixed point
in an always turning
and often
upside down
universe.

(C) Carol Wilcox, 2015

*********
And an extra. This is a snapshot I wrote last night, and the one that I thought was going to be my poem today. This morning, I thought, "Haven't I already written a similar poem about Star?" I looked back, and yep, I did. On the day we did joy. I guess Star teaches me about this subject often.

"Black Lab"

She lays
stretched across the couch
head on my thigh
one paw atop
the bone she discovered
on our walk tonight.

Occasionally she snores
or yips
at the squirrels
who scamper
through her dreams.

Her human,
a soft spot to sleep,
and a treasure
waiting when she wakes.

It is well with her soul.

(C) Carol Wilcox, 2015