The Day After Thanksgiving, 2019

It is still dark when I get out of bed
and go downstairs to begin my morning.
Dawn starts to brightens the kitchen window.

The metal pot in the coffee maker 
sings a merry tune as hot water drips
into it. My wife and son still asleep,

I have a rare moment to be alone
with no agenda except admiring
a pine ridge to the east dusted with snow.

It speaks to me of calm and solitude
and I am grateful for the reminder – 
though grateful as well for this house filled with

loved ones, yesterday’s laughter fresh enough
in my mind that I can hear its echoes
tiptoeing gleefully from room to room.