Annette Marie Hyder
(Thanksgiving 2011)

It seems to me that I wear the days
as a sort of crown
or a headdress, a headdress of feathers
where the feathers of greatest beauty and significance
are loved ones
and the beaded ornamentation
multi-colored and brilliant
is made up of the many acts of kindness
large and small
that have been hand sewn and finger knotted in.

The length of this headdress does not, paradoxically,
increase with each day but rather with each new thing
that I have to be thankful for.
These new things are the feathers
that fan out from the top and cascade down.

And so it is that I am measuring time
not with minutes and seconds
but in gratitude
as feathers sweep my steps,
lay a hush on my surroundings
and whisper
hallelujah
as I go.