The Poet

What does Thanksgiving mean for us?

We give thanks to the Africans
Who survived the middle passage.

We give thanks to the slaves:
Who survived their masters’ rape,
To the blackmen who survived
Their masters’ beatings.
To the yellowmen who built your railroads.

We give thanks:
To the redmen who survived your genocide,
To Crazy Horse who defended his people,
To Harriet Tubman who drove her train to freedom.
To the Colored man who resisted your back doors.
To the Jews who survived your ovens.

We give thanks:
To the Colored soldiers who fought for a double victory,
For Malcolm X who always spoke the truth,
To the brave peasants in Chiapas,
Fighting for land, food, and a better way of life,

We give thanks:
For my mother who scrubbed Ms. Ann’s floors,
For my father who worked and worked,
For my wife who put up with me for thirty years.
For my children who are healthy, spiritually and physically,
For all our friends who will break bread together.

We give thanks
For all who carry on the fight against greed and racism,
For those who fight for healthcare for all,
For all who fight for good good education,
For those who fight against unjust wars,
For the day when all wars will be ancient history.

That is what thanksgiving means to us.