Poet: Crocket McElroy
In this beautiful world,
Where love's flag is unfurled
And given free scope to wave and entwine;
It does not become man
To complain of the plan,
Established by a Creator divine.
And on Thanksgiving Day
While we sing and we pray,
And give thanks for the rich stores we possess;
Our hearts should open wide,
To the poor by our side,
And take measures to relieve their distress.
For happy is the part,
Where there's love in the heart,
To lighten the sorrows of one in need;
And peace comes to the breast,
When we help the distrest,
And, O God, what joy comes from a good deed.
The poem below poem reminds us how Thanksgiving came about and how we need to remember those important first Thanksgiving and why this holiday came to be in the first place.
Poet: J. J. Montague
With steadfast and unwavering faith, with hard and patient toil,
The pilgrims wrung their harvest from a strange and sterile soil.
And when the leaves turned red and gold beneath the autumn sun,
They knelt beside the scanty sheaves Their laboring hands had won,
And each grave elder, in his turn, with bowed and reverent head,
Gave thanks to bounteous Heaven for the miracle of bread.
And so was born Thanksgiving Day. That little dauntless band,
Beset by deadly perils in a wild and alien land,
With hears that held no fear of death, with stern, unbending wills,
And faith as firmly founded as the grim New England hills,
Though pitiful the yield that sprang from that unfruitful sod,
Remembering in their harvest time the goodly grace of God.
God grant us grace to look on this, our Glorious native land,
As but another princely gift from His almighty hand.
May we prove worthy of His trust and keep its every shore
Protected from the murderous hordes that bear the torch of war,
And be the future bright or dark God grant we never may
Forget the reverent spirit of that first Thanksgiving Day.
More Thanksgiving poems:
Christian Poems For Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Prayers
Thanksgiving Blessings
This poem talks about how there are things all around us that we do not give a second thought to give thanks for. We tend to focus on the big things in life and forget about the little things that bring us happiness and comfort. Yes, most of these things we can live without, and a lot of people do, but if you are lucky enough to have these things in your possession, make sure you give thanks for them!
Poet: Julie Hebert
Our lives are filled with things to be thankful for,
Yet most are never acknowledged.
The little things all around us get missed,
Be thankful for all things, not just our home, car, or going to college.
Be thankful for the small things we take for granted,
Our pillows and blankets, toothbrush and grocery list.
All of these things are worth appreciation,
For without them, they would be missed.
Take a look around you at this very moment,
What things do you see?
Some things yes you could live without,
But they bring you so much glee.
So even though you can live without some things,
The happiness they bring is a must.
Be thankful for all the things in your life,
Give Thanksgiving in all we've discussed.
Thankful For Poems
This Irish poem of Thanksgiving is about a person giving thanks for all they have. They are thankful for their safety, wealth, and friendships, and they pray thanks to the God they know has made these things happen. Happy for both being not too high and not too low as being in the middle is a good thing and a thing to be grateful for.
Poet: Katharine Tynan
I thank God when I kneel to pray
That mine is still the middle way,
Set in a safe and sweet estate
Between the little and the great;
Not troubled with wealth's cares nor yet
Too poor where needs that cark and fret
Push out sweet leisure and green nooks,
And give no chance for talk and books.
I take my middle way between
The mansion and a lodging mean.
My cottage at the country's edge
Hath sweetbriar growing in its hedge,
Honesty, heartsease and sweet-peas,
Herb-bennet, love-in-idleness.
Give me a tree, a well, a hive,
And I can save my soul alive,
Yet be as poor in spirit as
The Poverello's Lady was.
I covet not soft silk or lace
Nor any lovely lady's face ;
Nor yet would go in hodden grey ;
But lawns and wool be my array.
I still may ask a friend to dine
And set him meat and pour him wine ;
Nor count the coins within my purse
To see that I am nothing worse.
I thank God that my middle place
Is set amid much pleasantness.
And not too high and not too low
The safe, untroubled path I go.
The following poems are a prime example of all the things we often take for granted and yet should be just as grateful for. A lot of the time when we go to give our thanks for all thing things we have been blessed with we tend to give thanks for the bigger more obvious things. Don't get me wrong, those things are super important to give thanks for but there are many smaller, less obvious things all around us that we should give thanks for as well. These poems are a good reminder for us all to thank God for the beauty all around us and the senses we have been given to take them all in.
Poet: Ralph Waldo Emerson
For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.
For blue of stream and blue of sky;
For pleasant shade of branches high;
For fragrant air and cooling breeze;
For beauty of the blooming trees,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.
Poet: Mattie M. Renwick
For flowers so beautiful and sweet,
For friends and clothes and food to eat,
For precious hours, for work and play,
We thank Thee this Thanksgiving Day.
For father's care and mother's love,
For the blue sky and clouds above,
For springtime and autumn gay
We thank Thee this Thanksgiving Day!
For all Thy gifts so good and fair,
Bestowed so freely everywhere,
Give us grateful hearts we pray,
To thank Thee this Thanksgiving Day.
Thanksgiving Quotes
Our busy lives can sometimes take us away from the things that really count. We stop and give thanks at Thanksgiving, but we need to do so each and every day of the year! Don't let your life make you forget of all the amazing things around you that deserve a thankful prayer to the creator. God is an artist in many ways. This is not only proven in the beautiful things he has brought to life, but also in the skies, the oceans and the landscape.
Poet: Lucy M. Hewlings
As a flower from the sod looks up
To greet the gladsome light
That fills with fragrance its gay cup.
And makes its petals bright;
So may our hearts look up to Thee,
Oh God, our sun, our spring!
And every grateful faculty
To Thee its glad song sing!
For tables bountifully spread.
For homes, and hearts that love,
For every good that crowns our head,
For hopes that lure above;
For all the streams of good that flow
Down from Thy distant rills.
We thank Thee; for they come, we know.
From Thine eternal hills.
We thank Thee for the friends still ours;
We thank Thee none the less
For those we've had, although their powers
Our lives no longer bless.
For like a meteor in the sky.
Though they have gone from sight.
Their passing trail still greets the eye.
And makes our night-sky bright.
Teach us to hear the songs of life;
Teach us to see its beauty;
Oh make us manly in its strife.
Nor ever deaf to duty.
And since whate'er we have was given,
And still by right is Thine,
Teach us that earth is likest heaven
Through charity divine.
Poet: C. A. Lynch
In humble grace, we gather near,
As autumn's breath draws tender cheer.
Thanksgiving, a pause to deeply reflect,
On blessings woven through life's intricate sect.
For sacred moments shared amidst strife,
And gracious gifts that shape our life.
With hearts ablaze, we give thanks anew;
How blessed we are, our gratitude true.
