Table of Contents
Foreword Danusha Laméris xi
The Practice of Connection James Crews 1
Small Kindnesses Danusha Laméris 5
Red Brocade Naomi Shihab Nye 6
Worry Stone for My Grandfather Short Altman 7
Kindness Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer 8
Reflective Pause: The Soil That Is You 10
Into Wildflower Into Field Kai Coggin 11
A Beginner's Guide to Gardening Alone Laura Budofsky Wisniewski 13
The Heartbeat of My Unborn Child Heather Lanier 14
Sponge Bath Mary Elder Jacobsen 15
Most Important Word Laura Grace Weldon 16
Only Love James Crews 17
Breathe David Van Houten 18
Elation January Gill O'Neil 19
My Daughter Meets My White Pine Tricia Knoll 20
Turning Julie Cadwallader Staub 21
Peace Came Today Ingrid Goff-Maidoff 22
A Chair by the Creek Kim Stafford 23
Floodwood Pond Danny Dover 24
Filling the Candles Ted Kooser 25
Pinch Pot Mary Ray Goehring 26
Clothing Margaret Basse 27
Chore Angela Narciso Torres 28
Reflective Pause: The Sacred Everyday 29
Trying to Pray Twyla M. Hansen 30
For Keeps Joy Harjo 31
Sustenance Barbara Crooker 32
Twenty Years of Longing Ruth Arnison 33
The Heart Is Not Danusha Laméris 34
Learning by Heart Laura Foley 35
Billowing Overhead Jacqueline Jules 36
Two Meteors Penny Harter 37
Made Visible Tom Hennen 38
A Small Moment Cornelius Eady 39
Ode Zoe Higgins 40
Credo Donna Hilbert 41
Self-Care James Crews 42
Reflective Pause: Reassembling the Parts 43
Sunday January Gill O'Neil 44
Thursday Morning Laura Grace Weldon 45
Touch Joy Gaines-Friedler 46
On Lightness Heather Swan 47
Divorce José A. Alcantara 48
Shift Susan Moorhead 49
Song Tracy K. Smith 50
Drinking There Mark Nepo 51
More Than Seeing Susan Musgrave 52
The Most Important Thing Julia Fehrenbacher 53
Vain Doubts Julia Alvarez 54
Before I Gained All This Weight Molly Fisk 56
Thank You Ross Gay 57
Small Lesson Lorna Crozier 58
The Age of Affection Leah Naomi Green 59
Forsythia Barbara Crooker 60
Last Scraps of Color in Missouri Karen Craigo 61
It Doesn't Take Much Ted Kooser 62
Reflective Pause: Part of It All Again 64
The Thing Is Ellen Bass 65
Self-Compassion James Crews 66
Praise Kelli Russell Agodon 68
Joy Dorianne Laux 69
Take Love For Granted Jack Ridl 71
Free Breakfast Terri Kirby Erickson 73
Passenger Annie Lighthart 74
Site Planning Christine Stewart-Nunez 75
A Perfect Arc Laura Foley 76
The Summer You Learned To Swim Michael Simms 77
The Pool James Crews 78
Carrying Water to the Field Joyce Sutphen 79
At The Creek David Romtvedt 80
Reflective Pause: Would That Be Heaven? 81
Coniferous Fathers Michael Kleber-Diggs 82
My Father's Hands Zeina Azzam 84
Early in the Morning Li-Young Lee 85
Night Talks Terri Kirby Erickson 87
Love Portions Julia Alvarez 88
Grandmother Kate Duignan 90
Heliotropic Todd Davis 92
Everybody in the Same House Marjoiie Saiser 93
Hot Tea Lahab Assef Al-Jundi 94
Morning Song Gregory Orr 95
How to Wake Annie Lighthart 96
Wake Up Alice Wolf Gilborn 97
Dawn Callers Alberto Ríos 98
Reflective Pause: A Welcoming World 99
First Light Susan Moorhead 100
My Mother's Van Faith Shearin 101
The Raincoat Ada Limon 103
I Save My Love Marjorie Saiser 104
In Praise of Dirty Socks Lailah Dainin Shima 105
Exactly 299,792,458 Meters Per Second Carolee Bennett 106
About Standing (in Kinship) Kimberly Blaeser 107
Kinship of Flesh Rebecca Foust 108
The Joins Chana Bloch 109
Bowl Heather Swan 111
Reflective Pause: Where Beauty Is Honed 112
Housekeeping Natasha Trethewey 113
Round Robin Letter Ted Kooser 114
Mailman Sally Bliumis-Dunn 115
Telephone Repairman Joseph Millar 117
The News of Love David Graham 118
Arctic Night, Lights Across the Sky Linda Hogan 119
The Dogs at Live Oak Beach, Santa Cruz Alicia Ostriker 120
Rescue Dog Nancy Gordon 121
New York Downpour Dan Butler 122
After Work Richard Jones 123
Abundance to Share with the Birds Andrea Potos 124
Mimesis Fady Joudah 125
Mercy Rudy Francisco 126
Kindness Naomi Shihab Nye 127
For the Korean Grandmother on Sunset Boulevard Christine Kitano 129
Reflective Pause: So You Are Here 130
Gas Station Communion Paula Gordon Lepp 131
A Great Wild Goodness Annie Lighthart 133
No Small Thing Ellen Rowland 134
I Would Like Jane Hirshfield 135
A Pot of Red Lentils Peter Pereira 137
You Reading This, Be Ready William Stafford 138
Come In! Connie Wanek 139
Still Life with Ladder Susan Rich 140
Braiding His Hair Alison Luterman 142
Love in Our Sixties Judith Sornberger 143
That New Susan Rothbard 145
Get Close Susan Zimmerman 146
The Innermost Chamber of My Home Is Yours David Axelrod 147
Summer Romance Dave Baldwin 148
Late Summer Anya Silver 149
Assisted Living Judith Sornberger 150
When You Meet Someone Deep in Grief Patricia McKemon Runkle 151
Reflective Pause: Here to Listen 152
Dream Visitation Megan Buchanan 153
Ladder Phyllis Cole-Dai 154
The Thing She Loves Most Michelle Mandolia 156
Last Day of Kindergarten Marjorie Saiser 157
Juvie Kid Gillian Wegener 159
Make Believe Emilie Lygren 161
What You Missed That Day You Were Absent from Fourth Grade Brad Aaron Modlin 162
Reflective Pause: What You Missed 164
On the Back Porch Dorianne Laux 165
Lullaby for an Empty Nester Suzanne Nussey 166
Moving Michelle Wiegers 167
Delivery Marie Howe 169
Unbreakable Clarities Ray Hudson 170
Insha'Allah Danusha Laméris 171
Where I Might Find Her Andrea Potos 172
The Question Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer 173
Future Jacqueline Suskin 174
Reading Group Questions and Topics for Discussion 175
Poet Biographies 181
Credits 207
Acknowledgments 212
