Nothing Unimportant

First thing every morning after I rise,
take care of business and dress,
I go out on the veranda,
pry off the orange plastic lid
from the Home Depot bucket,
take the large red tumbler and scoop
the piled seed until the cup is brimming
with breakfast for the birds waiting
in the dunes for my daily return.
It is a comfortable ritual—
one that lets me touch the edge of wholeness—
connection to this world,
a functional part performing a necessary task,
like loving something enough to care for it,
like being needed in return—
even if only for the gift received.
There is nothing small about any deed done
for the sake of love.
There is nothing unimportant about being
needed in return.

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P.C. Scheponik is a lifelong poet who lives by the sea with his wife, Shirley, and their shizon, Bella. His writing celebrates nature, the human condition, and the metaphysical mysteries of life. He has published four collections of poems: Psalms to Padre Pio (National Centre for Padre Pio, INC), A Storm by Any Other Name and Songs the Sea has Sung in Me (PS Books, a division of Philadelphia Stories), and And the Sun Still Dared to Shine (Mazo Publishers). His work has also appeared in numerous literary journals. He is a 2019 Pushcart Prize nominee. His newest collection is Seeing, Believing, and Other Things, published by Adelaide Books.