Thanksgiving

Thank God for life!

There! A meadowlark sings! Do you hear it?

For the sigh of the heart,

The contagion of laughter,

For the longing apart,

For the joy that comes after,

For the things that we feel

When we clasp, when we kneel—

Thank God for the sharing,

The caring, the giving,

For the things of Life’s living.

Thank God for the riches

Of flowers in the ditches,

For the roof from the weather,

The fireside together,

For the step at the portal,

For the love we have treasured,

For something unmeasured,

For something immortal,

For our grief, for our mirth,

For heavens on earth,

For the things of the spirit!

There! A meadowlark sings! Do you hear it?

~Douglas Malloch, 1877-1938