Thanku: Poems of Gratitude

Thanku: Poems of Gratitude — page 1 — For Lucille Clifton Kaia Sand Michael Glaser Lisa Moser and Linda Vander Heyden thank you for shaping my writer’s journey And to my friends cofounders and team members at We Need Diverse Books my family is forever grateful for your advocacy passion and persistence M P Thank you to the little seeds that bloom into the many vibrant colors that inspire my art and give it purpose M M

Thanku: Poems of Gratitude — page 2 — Giving Thanks by Joseph Bruchac In memory of Chief Jake Swamp Thanksgiving is more than just one day so a Mohawk elder said to me Though it is good that we remember this time with feasting each November We need to give thanks every dawn for the gifts of life for each breath drawn For everything that keeps us living we speak our words of true thanksgiving format didactic poem

Thanku: Poems of Gratitude — page 3 — Dear Sky by Naomi Shihab Nye Dear Sky Thank you for sticking around I’m a little trapped here tied to ground by gravity in a state a country but you are the true top of my room When I stare up everything feels better You calm me down When you are gray I know you are holding on to rain doing your job When you’re blue everyone loves you So many styles of clouds drifting quietly best of all you always change the way I change getting older Thank you for showing me how In your own mysterious way I think you care I want to belong to everywhere the way you do Kids in Dubai Kenya China Australia all know you You are the true world friend Sky I thank you every day and night for connecting us I don’t need any money at all to own your glory Love Small Dot on the Earth format epistle

Thanku: Poems of Gratitude — page 4 — Flights by Kimberly Blaeser Do flying birds feel gratitude to air to curved and feathered tips of wings Their sky colors wave like flags in wind canary yellow cardinal red crow black or flamingo pink Rainbow bird wings flex then lift up up up up Strong wings bend push down down down down Like kites birds whirl and dip and dive in a high curving dance but with no strings to earth Sometimes their down flap is like a clap their glide is like a wheeee Some days the skies seem full of honk and tweet and chirp seem full of caw and chick-a-dee-dee-dee And when the landing bird s-p-r-e-a-d-s its fancy feather fan our hearts may clap in gratitude at that Returning to earth does a landing bird give thanks for its amazing steering rudder the balance of its sturdy tail Do we earthbound watchers who only dream of feathered flight sigh thanks to nature’s aerial artists who lift us imaginatively on their wings format concrete shape

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