Oh Lord, we come before You, 
On this Thanksgiving Day. 
We ask You for Your Blessing, 
As we gather now to pray.

Bless this food before us, 
Of which we will partake. 
Forgive us all our sins, 
And mistakes that we may make.

Strengthen our very souls, 
Make us worthy of You. 
Keep us safe, from any harm, 
In everything we do.

Guide us every day, Oh Lord, 
Show us right from wrong. 
When we are feeling weakened, 
We pray You make us strong.

Father, we give You thanks, 
For loved ones gathered near, 
And we ask that You watch over, 
All those, that aren't here.

We pray for peace and harmony, 
Upon our struggling earth. 
We thank You for the precious Gift, 
You gave us, in Your Son's birth.

Oh Lord, we thank You for everything, 
You have blessed us with again, 
And we humbly pray, all of this, 
In Jesus' name....Amen.

Oh Lord, we come before You, 
On this Thanksgiving Day. 
We ask You for Your Blessing, 
As we gather now to pray.

Bless this food before us, 
Of which we will partake. 
Forgive us all our sins, 
And mistakes that we may make.

Strengthen our very souls, 
Make us worthy of You. 
Keep us safe from any harm, 
In everything we do.

Guide us every day, Oh Lord, 
Show us right from wrong. 
When we are feeling weakened, 
We pray You make us strong.

Father, we give You thanks, 
For loved ones gathered near. 
And we ask that You watch over, 
All those that aren't here.

We pray for peace and harmony, 
Upon our struggling earth. 
We thank You for the precious gift, 
You gave us in Your Son's birth.

Oh Lord, we thank You for everything, 
You have blessed us with again, 
And we humbly pray, all of this, 
In Jesus' name....Amen.

All the sex that was
had in the hotel the night before

Left me feeling sick
to the core

All the rich feelings
I had prior, left me feeling poor and tired

I wish my life didn’t
feel like it’s close to being expired

It has been dire
since I left my first fire

Despite that fact
that she was a crier

She was still someone
I admired

Even when I became a
liar and started adding stress

Self-destructing my relationships
is what I did best

No need for a C4 vest
strapped to my chest

Keeping both eyes
closed knowing it’s going to be quite the mess

But you couldn’t help
but watch, like a slow car crash

People gather around
like mass, mumbling nothing but sass

But wait, maybe…….I’m
just crazy

 Hearing voices in my head with topics like

Ladies, marriage, and
babies

FUCK THIS! PAY ME!

I just can’t anymore,
my happiness is wearing thin

Just something I can’t
ignore

I heard happiness is
something so rich

I can’t afford

Therefore I’ll just
sit here bored, might cop a 40oz at the store

Since I’m poor

It’s Thanksgiving Day
but nothing to give thanks for

I feel like smiling,
and giving a fuck

Has become a chore

But you know what I
guess I got to make the best of what I got

Might blow off my
mom’s dinner

And head to my niggas
spots

I heard today everybody
is going to cook a lot

Gas stoves, smell of garlic
and cloves we just got

Getting ready with
them pots

Before we smoke pot

Can’t break
tradition, all my niggas in the kitchen

But before I head in

I just thought I’d
vent about life and shit I’ve been missing

First year without
the same girl I’ve been kissing

Yeah I got family, girlfriend
and a pot to piss in

But still this just
doesn’t feel like a Happy Thanksgiving

Lincoln And Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a day for us to come together with affinity and to exclaim

How thankful we are for what we have, (it’s even embedded in the holiday’s name).

As we give thanks for our family and the numerous blessings in life we’ve achieved

I think it’s also a time to give thanks for the blessings we haven’t received.

For instance I was born with very poor eyesight without my glasses it’s hard for me to see.

When it comes to reading the eye chart, I can’t make out that big letter ‘E’!

But the world I see is a synthesis as colors and light interplay

Where beauty is blended with beauty, Hey, I wonder if that’s why I love Monet?

And my hearing, though better than my eyesight, has never been what I’d call strong

I don’t understand all conversations or hear the words to my favorite songs.

But I fill in the words that I miss so my life can have symmetry

And I sing my own versions of my favorite songs, Hey, could that be why I like poetry?

I never grew to be as big as I wanted, I was going to be a football star if you must know

Nor was I blessed with the ability I had hoped: to run or to catch or to throw.

So I was destined to watch football at home or at the game high up in the bleachers

But I found I liked working with children, Hey, maybe that’s why I became a teacher?

Teaching didn’t lead to the fame and the wealth...no nationwide adulation

We didn’t have a mansion, a boat, or a limo and didn’t go on exotic vacations.

But we had enough to make our lives happy and more often than not we were glad

For we learned in a world so uncertain to enjoy the things that we already had.

It seems to me as we travel this world no matter how distant, how far

Sometimes it’s the blessings we haven’t received that make us the people we are.

So as you celebrate Thanksgiving this year there are two ways to give thanks, I believe.

Be thankful for all the blessings you’ve been given, and for the ones you have never received.

Do you know about Turkeys?

If not, don't you fear,

here I am, I'm here!

I'm going to tell you

all about Turkeys!

What does the turkey say?

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!

That's what the Turkey says!

What does a Turkey look like?

A turkey is a very big bird!

They have big long legs,

big long necks,

and tails that could look like fans!

They have short

and round wings.

They can have brown,

blue, or blackish feathers!

The male turkeys

have a funny looking red thing

that is on their necks,

and this funny thing is

called a wattle!

I love traditions, but we learned long ago with our blended family

We needed to look at our traditions with more objectivity.

With so many relatives to be considered and only so much time in any holiday

We decided to uphold tradition but in nontraditional ways.

Even Shakespeare, I believe, would have found a way to spin it

He’d say though this be madness, yet, there is a method in it. 

For instance Christmas at our house has a tradition our children first conceived

We eat pizza and open presents not on Christmas, but Christmas Eve.

Then we’d put Christmas music on the car radio, and look at lights along the way

As we drove to their other parent’s houses where they’d wake up on Christmas Day.

Even now with our children grown Christmas Eve we still hold dear

As this is now the tradition we look forward to each year.

Shakespeare, never a playwright who was afraid of twists or change 

Might agree by saying this is different but it is also wondrous strange.

Take Thanksgiving, though we celebrate it as it once was celebrated

We may not always celebrate on the day that’s designated.

This year our Thanksgiving had all the traditions as it did in times of yore

Only our dinner with all the trimmings occurred the Saturday before.

While, for most of you, Thanksgiving was still five days away

We celebrated yesterday with our traditional buffet.

(Bryan was the only person missing but we have a computer with web cam

And all our phones and devices have Facebook, text and Instagram.)

It’s a simple fact that all parents in every family have found

As children grow up it gets more difficult to gather them around.

So we’ll give thanks on any day and change dates quite cheerfully

In order to be surrounded by our friends and family.

For nothing makes us happier, beguiles or enthralls

Than the sound of family laughter as it echoes off the walls.

We parents know as families change and our children become grown

It’s up to us to establish new traditions of our own.

Yes, if Shakespeare was alive today I’m sure that he would tweet

That which we call Thanksgiving on any other day would taste as sweet.

Thanksgiving Sonnet
Karyn Indursky

Shall we eat a feast or be chatter buds?
Maybe, we should balance them on hands
mingling our cultures into suds
of children blowing bubbles; hearts expand. 

So many times I turned my back from You
So many promises I have made and broken, too
So many troubles have come into
But You have never let me go.
You keep me close despite of my sins
In each of my desperate moments
I found solace in Your presence
I am at peace and forgot the pain.

Dear God, Your Love is Indeed Mighty
You've never allow me to go astray
You have blessed me in countless ways
Please continue to show Your Loving Mercy
And may today I will never forget
That I have a God whose love is so great
Open my heart and forever dwell on it
That I may reflect Your never ending graces.