Summer is a time to relish simple joys: biting into that first homegrown tomato; jumping into a chilly lake on a blistering-hot day; catching the scent of wildflowers on a wooded trail; being serenaded by katydids in the evenings, and waking to bird song in the mornings. This poem reminds us to stop, notice, and give thanks for such gifts. It reminds us to treasure today.

Today

by Ethel Romig Fuller

I have spread wet linen
On lavender bushes,
I have swept rose petals
From a garden walk.
I have labeled jars of raspberry jam,
I have baked a sunshine cake;
I have embroidered a yellow duck
On a small blue frock.
I have polished andirons,
Dusted the highboy,
Cut sweet peas for a black bowl,
Wound the tall clock,
Pleated a lace ruffle . . .
To-day
I have lived a poem.