Thanksgiving

I want to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. Here is my Thanksgiving poem. Artwumyn~~~

Thank you God that the sun rises each day

Intent on it's journey across the skies

Oblivious to the grateful and the ungrateful

Shining down upon the earth without judgment

Through millions of miles of silent space

Thank you God that the moon orbits the earth

From time unremembered, it's faithfulness reported

Counted on, clocked, marveled about, and written down

Steadfast in the heavens like the stars and the planets

Never mocking the great cities that rise and fall

Thank you God that the earth has withstood

The eons of shifting continents, volcanic blasts

And asteroid impacts, ice ages, drought years,

Devastation of entire species, and devastation of

It's precious dwindling resources by one species

Thank you God that though we are like the storms of the earth

Violent in our changing natures, seemingly intent on destruction

Of all that is placed before us, unforgiving of the weak and helpless,

You have given us the example of the sun and the moon

The stars and the planets, the galaxies and universes.

In our short lives, the blink of an eye in timeless time

They appear unchanging, and somehow we are comforted.

Thank you that by your unending mercy, we have withstood

Since our creation from the atoms of the universe.

Thank you God that we can count on the sun to rise

Though we cannot count on peace to fill the earth

Thank you that we can count on the rhythms of the moon

Though we cannot count on lives without pain

Thank you that we can count on the heavens to stand

Because sometimes all the earth is quaking within us

And you are the only One able to calm the storm

Artwumyn

©2002

National Poetry Day

Today is October 2, 3014 - National Poetry Day. The theme for 2014 is "remember."

It Started With a Phone Call, was written on September 11, 2002 and is about 911 - that horrible day our lives changed forever, September 11, 2001. We will never forget!
The Rape of the Expendable was also written in 2002; my feelings about the Exxon-Valdez oil spill. However, it is applicable to the BP oil spill and the many, many others that have occurred around the world. The terrible damage to each area's wild life and the ecological impact should never be forgotten.
And finally: You Are in Our Thoughts and Prayers, 2003, was posted September 27, 2014, but should be included in our "remembrance" as it is a letter to all service men and women serving abroad and at home. It is as timely today as it was then.
Time passes by so quickly and life goes on, but we remember.

You Are in Our Thoughts and Prayers

The Dogwoods are in bloom

And I thought of you today

Spring is here already

You were in my prayers last night

Easter will be coming soon

A yellow ribbon marks your chair

The choir is rehearsing songs of praise

And we all miss your voice, your laugh

Your presence in our midst

But we hold you close beside us

In our thoughts and in our prayers

My children have a new baby girl

I'm a grandmother now times three

I went to see her on a sunny day

And I thought of you way over there

In sand and heat, in danger's way

And in my heart I said another prayer

That God would bring you safely home

That He would hold you in His hand

That you would feel His Presence near

While you are in this foreign land

The white and pink of Dogwood trees

Have given way to leaves of green

I held the thought of early spring

And sent it on to you

With baby scent and children's smiles

With laughing friends at bar-b-ques

Oh, and by the way,

Your cat and dog are safe and sound

Although they miss you too

We're doing all we can at home

To keep things running smooth

And each day in our thoughts and prayers

In everything we say and do

There is that thread connecting us

Even through the miles that separate us

No matter what you may be going through

We here at home are holding you

And the sacrifices you're making too

All the while you are over there

You are here in our thoughts and prayers

Thank you,

Artwumyn

c.2003