Thanksgiving Visitors Come From Away

Thanksgiving Visitors Come From Away Hands once separated By history on shores of distant oceans Entwined again on a blustery November morning, Meeting beneath a song In the shadow of a steeple thrust Into a brilliant autumn sky, Uniting visitors from across the pond - Traveling like new world explorers Canyons grand, rocky mountain majesty Rocks of pilgrims, terraced vineyards And a golden gate - With a stranger sharing common legacy of the days long past Welcomed to a home in friendship Knowing though a cozy shelter place awaits, As Thanksgiving rushes toward the city by the bay, On this harvest celebration A family waiting beside a warming fire And a groaning board of roasted turkey, pumpkin pie, Sweet tart cranberries and potatoes mashed together Unavailable as chefs and innkeepers share the holiday With sons and daughters, brothers, sisters And other fathers, mothers; No chair reserved for strangers From another land at the table Until a hand extends an invitation To share the festival of bounty With unknown hearts at a table, Always ready to set another place, Awaiting laughter wrapped in a tradition Of jokes and stories, The savory scents of a new song sung By hearts reunited – Bowing heads to the words Of a harvest grace Gathering hands separated By more than wider oceans Hearts forever linked in memory By a blustery November holiday. Date Written: 11/13/19 Contest Entered: Strand Choice 6 Date Judged: 1/26/20