Thanksgiving

I give thanks
For all that I have.

I give thanks to my parents
For my life,
For each beat of my heart,
And each breath of life I take.

I give thanks for my mind
For each thought, hope,
And worry that crosses it,
To know that I am.

I give thanks for my eyes
And the sights I have seen,
The colors, the shapes and forms of things.

I give thanks for my ears
And all I have heard,
Music, birds, the wind,
My mother’s voice,
My father’s whistling,
My children’s laughter.

I give thanks for my hands,
My mouth, my nose,
And the luxury of all I have touched,
Tasted and smelled,
Of this Earth, this life.

I give thanks for this Earth,
With the sky above,
Life surrounding me,
And the soil and rocks below.
For the tilted axis,
For seasons, the weather, the tides,
For it all.

I give thanks for the sun
And its life giving warmth and light,
For the moon bidding my gaze upward,
And for the stars bidding my wonder.

I give thanks for this place,
This nation, this state, this town, this street, this home,
And for those who know me,
And for those I know.

I give thanks for my family,
For ancestors, for grandparents,
Who brought us here,
For my parents,
Mother and father,
Who conceived me in love,
And in love raised me,
And my sisters,
(and now my brothers)
I give thanks for my wife, Jean,
And my children,
And now grandchildren.
I am, with them all
Son, brother, husband, father, grandfather.

I give thanks for everyone
Teachers, preachers, friends, and others,
Who gave me countless lessons
Of life, and everything I know
Everything I believe.

I give thanks for everything,
Great blessings of life and living,
Here and now,
I give thanks.