I started through the garden gate, I saw a spider’s web
(now usually spiders fill my soul with dread)
but the little creature wove so fine a tapestry of lace
I couldn’t find it in my heart to tear it from its brace.
Now I wonder how many times disaster came my way
unbeknownst to me, who ambled blithely through my day
so arrogantly self-assured that I would sleep and wake …
How many times was I secured from earthquake and heartache?
I only know the odds are good: there are blessings I’ve received
a hundred times more bountiful than the ones that I perceive.
So now I breathe a prayer of thanks for all I do not know,
the many times disaster struck, and I narrowly missed the blow.
Published in Poems