At this time when good feelings and thoughts are needed, what better way to celebrate the holiday than turning to Thanksgiving poetry.
The editorial staff of the Kendal on Hudson Residents Website wish you a wonderful and healthy Thanksgiving.
by Carl Sandburg
"Fire Dreams" was published in Carl Sandburg's volume of poetry Cornhuskers for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1919. He is known for his Walt Whitman-like style and use of free verse. Sandburg writes here in the language of the people, directly and with relatively little embellishment, except for a limited use of metaphor, giving this poem a modern feel. He reminds the reader of the first Thanksgiving, conjures up the season and gives his thanks to God. Here's the first stanza:
I remember here by the fire,
In the flickering reds and saffrons,
They came in a ramshackle tub,
Pilgrims in tall hats,
Pilgrims of iron jaws,
Drifting by weeks on beaten seas,
And the random chapters say
They were glad and sang to God.
Thanksgiving Time (1921)
by Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes, famous as a seminal and hugely important influence on the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, wrote poetry, plays, novels, and short stories that shed a light on Black people's experiences in America. This ode to Thanksgiving invokes traditional images of the time of year and the food that is often part of the story. The language is simple, and this would be a good poem to read at a Thanksgiving with children gathered around the table. Here's the first stanza:
When the night winds whistle through the trees and blow the crisp brown leaves a-crackling down,
When the autumn moon is big and yellow-orange and round,
When old Jack Frost is sparkling on the ground,
It's Thanksgiving Time!