All photography by Barbara Mattio

I woke this morning and went out on my front porch and was greeted by the fragrance and beauty of my garden. I ate breakfast sitting on the porch with the sun caressing my body filling me with vitamin D. A small plane flew overhead and I remembered flying over my house my self one time. A dragonfly lazily visited the blooms and my heart filled with joy and gratitude for my life. I also
thought about the people all over the world going about their lives, some filled with joy, some with injustice and oppression. Joy needs to be shared because it fills the soul with hope. Hope is a very real gift to a human soul.

Welcome Morning

“There is joy
in all;
in the hair I brush each morning,
in the Cannon towel, newly washed,
that I rub my body with each morning.
in the chapel of eggs I cook
each morning,
in the outcry from the kettle
that hears my coffee
each morning,
in the spoon and the chair
that cry “hello there, Anne”
each morning,
in the godhead of the table
that I set my silver, plate, cup upon
each morning.

All this is God,
right here in my pea-green house
each morning
and I mean,
though often forget,
to give thanks,
to faint down by the kitchen table
in a prayer of rejoicing
as the holy birds at the kitchen window.
peck into their marriage of seeds.

So while I think of it,
let me paint a thank-you on my palm
for this God, this laughter of the morning,
lest it go unspoken.
The joy that isn’t shared, I’ve heard,
dies young.

—Anne Sexton

All photography by Barbara Mattio

All photography by Barbara Mattio