Here's my Thanksgiving grace for 2016; an attempt to reconcile a recent dramatic showdown of two political cultures in the United States:
We are here now together
sitting at a flat surface
perched atop a round earth
it sounds precarious
in the abstract
but these hands feel solid
sometimes its nice to gather someplace flat
since it's not easy to see
and hear each other
on a far distant face of a sphere
for thousands of years
the grinding clash of human civilizations has spelled
a bounty for some, diminishment for others
somehow we here have emerged with autonomy
we join
people all over our northern hemisphere
around this time
celebrating harvest
in our own ways
let's each bring something
to this table
a vision for what we can honor and celebrate
in this changing world
today we practice gratitude.
gratitude for
this precious water drop hanging in space
the dead trees holding up our butts and our plates
the fowl beasts and flora that feed us today
and the people who enacted this whole situation
We don't always see who made
any of this possible;
most of them are dead before us
Our choices for our land and society
leave open fields or dark alleys for future folks
like blessed little Delia and beyond
how can we honor the passed away
and the unborn?
how can we give thanks in a complex world?
today we shall hold hands for a moment
take a breath
and practice a balancing of the flat on the round
