Noble Work

How on earth does one give thanks
for the coups of life,
the things unwelcomed?
 
It is like honey
to praise for family, pumpkin pie, and democracy,
a new hobby or grandbaby.
 
But what of the contrary?
 
To stand or sit sublime
when needled 
by folded dreams or rumpled possibilities,
friendships made rancid,
a backache that is chronic,
creditors’ queries,
a guilty verdict,
a call from an oncologist--
 
or simply a home unworthy of Architectural Digest
on a street of dust and litter.
 
That too is noble work,
and not just in this season
of giving thanks.