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Giving Thanks by Ms. Jackson
Giving Thanks
Illinois, 2020
We give thanks ---
For red cardinals that appear
Anywhere,
For violets, pristine and tender,
And tall white oaks
That bear
The weight of midwestern winds
Moving across the prairie
State.
Thanks
For the kiss of the Great Lake
Michigan, on a Big Chicago, bodacious and bursting
With promises
Thanks for the lakes and rivers that flow through
A state of dreams and blood and tears,
Thin rivers of toil that lace the land
And a Big River, Mississippi,
That runs.
Thanks for mid-cities churning industry
For rural places poised on tractors
And waystations
Peopled with all kinds
Of people ---
All colors
A One
In the Land of Lincoln
Lifting Freedom, Union, yes
We pray for each other
In all our heartbreaks.
We give thanks
For hope,
For family, for dear ones,
And neighbors
For “I love you”
Written on the red wings of cardinals,
On the sweet petals of violets,
On the strong brown branches of oaks.
We give thanks,
Thanks and thanks.
Angela Jackson
Illinois Poet Laureate
This original poem ‘Giving Thanks’ was included in a New York Times article on November 26, 2020. It was Angela’s first poem as Illinois Poet Laureate.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/26/us/thanksgiving-poetry-poet-laureates.html