Poems of Gratitude

As we come together over the holiday and show our appreciation for all that we're thankful for, I feel particularly grateful for poetry. I learned to love poetry after coming to work for the National Endowment for the Arts, having never connected with it at school. Mentors and colleagues here at the agency helped me to see the beauty and delight in this art form—its ability to capture emotions and express sentiments that seem difficult to articulate through prose. 

In celebration of poetry and gratitude, we have selected a series of poems that embody the feeling of the season. If you are not already a poetry lover, I hope this collection helps you experience the grace and wonder of the genre. Click through the link under each poem excerpt to read it in its entirety. 

"I can’t help thinking no word will ever be as full of life as this world,/ I can’t help thinking of thanks." 

From "Slant" by Suji Kwock Kim.

"Let us be thankful—not only because/ Since last our universal thanks were told/ We have grown greater in the world’s applause,/ And fortune’s newer smiles surpass the old—" 

From "Thanksgiving" by James Whitcomb Riley.

"I am a feather on the bright sky/ I am the blue horse that runs in the plain/ I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the water" 

From "The Delight Song" by N. Scott Momaday.

"What we didn’t see was this day, in/ our pajamas if we want to,// wrinkled hands strong, wine/ in juice glasses, toasting/ whatever’s next,// the decades of side-by-side,/ our great good luck." 

From "Thanksgiving for Two" by Marjorie Saiser.

"Give praise with mockingbirds, day's nightingales./ Hour by hour they sing in the crepe myrtle/ And glossy tulip trees/ On quiet side streets in southern towns." 

From "A List of Praises" by Anne Porter.

"Thank you for these tiny/ particles of ocean salt,/ pearl-necklace viruses,/ winged protozoans:/ for the infinite,/ intricate shapes/ of submicroscopic/ living things." 

From "Dusting" by Marilyn Nelson.