On this Thankful Thursday, I am thankful for years and years of things I've heard. Like a catalog, I can call on the wisdoms, cries, flip remarks, these turning points.

We can never know what words will stick, what words will sing or pierce and sting. Is it this unknowing that helps us hold our tongues, or, for better or worse, rush our words?

Things Heard

I don't believe in the institution of marriage.

Go play in traffic.

You don't need to be good.

This is temporary.

Standing in the apartment,
a wall of windows and a flush of light,
Here, I gushed, I could be a real writer.

If you're a writer, he said, you'll write.
Stung, I didn't move in.

Across town,
from a darker
cheaper
basement
I began to write.

Sugar, salt, sugar — the recipe for resolution.

Your call is important to us.

Let's play library. We start by being very quiet.

I miss you.

I do.

It's Thankful Thursday, a weekly pause to appreciate the people, places and things that bring joy. What are you thankful for today?