One Stop Poetry: A Poetic Monday!

Hello everyone!

Today's Monday finds us with a slight change of pace. This week I'm your host - Chris Galford - so Brian Miller, who usually handles our Monday Spotlights, can have a little time with the family. He deserves it, work-a-holic that he is!

I know you're used to seeing a spotlight here at the start of your week, but to open the Thanksgiving week, which is a major holiday celebration in America, I would like to share with you a picture and a poem of the season. I hope you enjoy, and happy holiday to all those celebrating Thanksgiving!

"The First Thanksgiving," by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863–1930)

Of Turkeys and Bounty
(By Chris Galford)

A cornucopia, all for me,

how thankful is the blind man

to the fruits of his fair nothing—

the greenery, grown, beneath the

scarlet massacre-flood

through the sky, the day

the men in their wide-brimmed hats

forgot the sea, learned the barrel

no one ever looks the same

behind the sights.

A turkey stuffed

with all the hands, the hammers,

unsung ringings in the deep

lightly smelling of the smoke,

the factories that brimmed with weary souls,

to bring the table to the meal,

to bring the car that brought the people—

smoking still the stilling rifle,

that bought and held and earned

the right to live, to dine,

the right to never know the pain

of making—foundations

in a crowded horn, this overflowing

but the end, not the means.

No oven fire burns so hot

could give the soul,

we dine upon tonight.

Not the usual fare for the Thanksgiving season, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same?

For those among the rest of our global audience, a word on Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving is an annual tradition in the United States, tracing itself as far back as 1863. The basis for the event occurred even further back, though, in 1621, when the Pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony held a three day celebration - including a harvest feast - to give thanks for food given to them by local Native American tribes, which enabled them to survive the harshness of their first winter ashore in America.

Though the celebration originally began with more religious overtones, the day has since grown into a secular, national holiday largely based around the concept of spending time with one’s family, and giving thanks for all that has come to you in the past year. The government, as well as most businesses, close down in honor of the day, and the Thanksgiving weekend is one of the busiest travel periods of the year. Turkey is a staple of the day itself, while stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and a host of fall vegetables are also commonly associated with most Thanksgiving dinners.

Thanksgiving is also traditionally a time of great care in local communities, many of which (as well as churches, businesses, and charity organizations) set up annual food drives for the occasion, to provide a Thanksgiving meal to the less fortunate.

Now a question for my fellow Americans among our audience today: what is your favorite part of Thanksgiving - your favorite memory?