In the middle of the hustle and bustle of the Thanksgiving holiday, we offer you a moment (well, six moments, actually) of reflection on gratitude. Click on the poem's title to read the full text.
"Give praise with the immense and peaceful sigh/ Of the wind in the pinewoods,/ At night give praise for the starry silences." — from "A List of Praises" by Anne Porter
"we are saying thank you faster and faster/ with nobody listening we are saying thank you/ we are saying thank you and waving/ dark though it is." — from "Thanks" by W.S. Merwin
"Fetch a log, then; coax the ember;/ Fill your hearts with old-time cheer;/ Heaven be thanked for one more year." — from "Thanksgiving Turkey" by George Parsons Lathrop
"At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow. We pray of suffering and remorse. We give thanks." — from "Perhaps the World Ends Here" by Joy Harjo
"We sigh for some supreme delight/ To crown our lives with splendor, / And quite ignore our daily store/ Of pleasures sweet and tender." — from "Thanksgiving" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
"Although the world is silent around you/ I know you/ I see you/ I hear you" from "To All My Friends" by HAUNTIE (May Yang)
Stay Connected to the National Endowment for the Arts
