Thanksgiving poem from J. Patrick Lewis

Hi everyone,

Today we feast on a tasty treat provided by J. Patrick Lewis, our esteemed National Poet Laureate for Children. Thank you, Pat. It’s a pleasure to post this poem, which was first published in Cricket, November/December 2008 and then in Pat’s COUNTDOWN TO SUMMER: A POEM FOR EVERY DAY OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, Little, Brown, 2009.

The Menu at the First Thanksgiving, 1621

Surely the Pilgrims brought no pigs across:
That first Thanksgiving they would eat no ham,
No mashed potato, sweet potato, yam,
For lack of sugar, no cranberry sauce.
Corn on the cob would not have been around.
Our pumpkin pie? No slice of bakers’ dreams.
And yet the bounty was a match, it seems,
For this historic day on hallowed ground.
Wild turkey, goose, duck, swan, partridge and crane,
Cod, bass, herring, bluefish and eels released
Uncommon waves of gratitude. That feast
Would be their last. They never met again—
The Indians and Pilgrims—to break bread.
But One Thanksgiving Day they were well-fed.

J. Patrick Lewis
U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate (2011-2013)
jplewis42@aol.com
www.jpatricklewis.com