Thanksgiving Day is here once more, A time to gather and give thanks galore. For family, friends, and food so fine, We pause to count our blessings divine. -Anonymous
Gratitude, or giving thanks, is good for our health. It can actually make us happier. On this fourth Thursday of November, poetry can seal the deal. Here are some easy and fun ways to celebrate a holiday with poetic excellence.‘Thanksgiving’ by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
We walk on starry fields of white And do not see the daisies; For blessings common in our sight We rarely offer praises. We sigh for some supreme delight To crown our lives with splendor, And quite ignore our daily store Of pleasures sweet and tender.
Our cares are bold and push their way Upon our thought and feeling. They hand about us all the day, Our time from pleasure stealing. So unobtrusive many a joy We pass by and forget it, But worry strives to own our lives, And conquers if we let it.
There’s not a day in all the year But holds some hidden pleasure, And looking back, joys oft appear To brim the past’s wide measure. But blessings are like friends, I hold, Who love and labor near us. We ought to raise our notes of praise While living hearts can hear us.
Full many a blessing wears the guise Of worry or of trouble; Far-seeing is the soul, and wise, Who knows the mask is double. But he who has the faith and strength To thank his God for sorrow Has found a joy without alloy To gladden every morrow.
We ought to make the moments notes Of happy, glad Thanksgiving; The hours and days a silent phrase Of music we are living. And so the theme should swell and grow As weeks and months pass o’er us, And rise sublime at this good time, A grand Thanksgiving chorus.
‘Thanksgiving Day’ by Lydia Maria Child
Over the river and through the wood, To grandfather’s house we go; The horse knows the way To carry the sleigh Through the white and drifted snow.
Over the river and through the wood— Oh, how the wind does blow! It stings the toes And bites the nose As over the ground we go.
Over the river and through the wood, To have a first-rate play. Hear the bells ring “Ting-a-ling-ding!” Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!
Over the river and through the wood Trot fast, my dapple-gray! Spring over the ground, Like a hunting-hound! For this is Thanksgiving Day.
Over the river and through the wood, And straight through the barn-yard gate. We seem to go Extremely slow— It is so hard to wait!
Over the river and through the wood— Now grandmother’s cap I spy! Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done? Hurrah for the pumpkin-pie!
‘A Thank-Offering’ by Ella Higginson
Lord God, the winter has been sweet and brief In this fair land; For us the budded willow and the leaf, The peaceful strand.
For us the silver nights and golden days, The violet mist; The pearly clouds pierced with vibrating rays Of amethyst.
At evening, every wave of our blue sea Hollowed to hold A fragment of the sunset’s mystery— A fleck of gold.
The crimson haze is on the alder trees In places lush; Already sings with sweet and lyric ease The western thrush.
Lord God, for some of us the days and years Have bitter been; For some of us the burden and the tears, The gnawing sin.
For some of us, O God, the scanty store, The failing bin; For some of us the gray wolf at the door, The red, within!
But to the hungry Thou hast given meat, Hast clothed the cold; And Thou hast given courage strong and sweet To the sad and old.
And so we thank Thee, Thou most tender God, For the leaf and flower; For the tempered winds, and quickening, velvet sod, And the gracious shower.
Yea, generous God, we thank Thee for this land Where all are fed, Where at the doors no freezing beggars stand, Pleading for bread.
‘A Thanksgiving Poem’ by Paul Laurence Dunbar
As everyone is resting after a full and satisfying meal, one of us can stand and recite this lovely poem for everyone to reflect on.The sun hath shed its kindly light, Our harvesting is gladly o’er Our fields have felt no killing blight, Our bins are filled with goodly store.
From pestilence, fire, flood, and sword We have been spared by thy decree, And now with humble hearts, O Lord, We come to pay our thanks to thee.
We feel that had our merits been The measure of thy gifts to us, We erring children, born of sin, Might not now be rejoicing thus.
No deed of our hath brought us grace; When thou were nigh our sight was dull, We hid in trembling from thy face, But thou, O God, wert merciful.
Thy mighty hand o’er all the land Hath still been open to bestow Those blessings which our wants demand From heaven, whence all blessings flow.
Thou hast, with ever watchful eye, Looked down on us with holy care, And from thy storehouse in the sky Hast scattered plenty everywhere.
Then lift we up our songs of praise To thee, O Father, good and kind; To thee we consecrate our days; Be thine the temple of each mind.
With incense sweet our thanks ascend; Before thy works our powers pall; Though we should strive years without end, We could not thank thee for them all.
The gratitude that is in the forefront of this festive day can give us many benefits every day of the year. Being thankful helps us stay in a positive mood; without our being aware of it, satisfaction can fill our life; we think less of material things; and, best of all, gratitude encourages patience, humility, and wisdom. In recent times, many in our community, especially young people and seniors, have experienced loneliness. Gratitude strengthens social relationships that draw others closer to us.
