Something not too soppy…

CharlesReznikoff_NewBioImageI was looking for a poem that was appropriate for thanksgiving, but not too sentimental.  This one seemed to fit the bill.

Te Deum

Not because of victories
I sing,
having none,
but for the common sunshine,
the breeze,
the largess of spring.

Not for victory
but for the day’s work done
as well as I was able;
not for a seat upon the dais
but at the common table.

Charles Reznikoff

Reznikoff lived in Brooklyn, the son of Russian immigrants. I remember loving this poem of his many years ago:

You think yourself a woman,
because you have children and lovers;
but in a street
with only Orion and the Pleiades to see us,
you begin to sing, you begin to skip.

So that’s two for the holiday.

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