An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
Official websites use .gov A
.gov website belongs to an official government
organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A
lock (
) or https:// means you've safely connected to
the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official,
secure websites.
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
