Ode to a Seagull

If you haven't read this poem by Pablo Neruda, do it. This is why you should read poetry: it allows you to look at life in a starkly different and crystalline form.

I often come back to this: we ought to be thankful. And I'm not talking about Christopher Durang-style thankfulness, "You do not have cancer-at least not today." I mean the very fact that we can eat food and not have to poke ourselves with a needle is a simple blessing that millions don't have.

The ability to appreciate is the most precious of all.