Gratitude

she said she would start a gratitude journal.

is it necessary to write it down on paper

I feel it in my bones in the forest,

draped in white, the only sound of snow

dropping from a high up branch as a 

squirrel bounces along the branch.

do I need to write it when I look into 

their eyes, the same eyes that looked

up at me from birth, now looking out

to a larger world with an occasional glance

back to me for support and encouragement.

Gratitude, when I walk the black puppy

in the forest as the clouds burst forth

in oranges, pinks and roses, my eyes

smell them, gratitude, I do not need 

to write it, I see it, I hear it, I read it

I know it.