November 20, 2006

• Thanksgiving Prayer 2006

  Thanksgiving Prayer 2006
  

  Poetry by Michael F. Nyiri
  11/20/06 5:15 am pst
  

  

  The facade of personal existence can be ripped from my place of residence
  Yet at least I can be thankful that I am maintaining living quarters
  No matter how many outside forces cause unwanted changes
  Because some living in this world cannot be said to be so lucky
  There are many in strife without even a home in which to live

  

  The winds of scattered circumstance whip away resiliency
  Yet I remain resilient, attuned to wanton weather’s whiles
  No matter how violent the weather or dry the well
  Giving thanks for this resiliency and staunch resolve
  I am grateful that no rain has fallen into my immediacy

  

  I might be alone after all these years
  Yet I will sup my feast with friends and neighbors
  No matter how many times I might spend Thanksgiving alone
  I have never starved for sustenance
  Whilst many in this world will suffer and go without this Thursday

  

  My eyes may direct my sight to views of seeming disregard
  And diligent doomsaying, torn open to those circumstantial winds
  No matter how many blighted or blistered vistas in my periphery
  Still these eyes remain sighted, and sense has never been slighted
  So many have lost limbs and senses, throughout the evermore

  

   Another year turns, another milestone passed, another day of thanks
  Another chance to listen, to rejoice, to lift mine eyes heavenward
  Another chance to reach out, to touch humankind in
  his vast and virulent disregard.
  To soothe him as much as I dare, to lift his spirits, to show him I care

  

   I give thanks, again, for the joie de vivre, for exhilaration, for wisdom
  For the knowledge of what is right, and proper,
  Even though sometimes I have erred, and  badly decisions made
  Which stifle my thanks as I prepare the fruits of those decisions
  But revel in the graciousness that I have learned to live with
  My mistakes, and to learn from them.

  

  The above photos illustrate the renovation and construction surrounding our rented property. The next to last photo clearly shows that there is not much left between the outside world and my living room. The last photo shows the front house, which has already had it’s bathroom added to the corner, and it’s front door moved to the center of the living room wall. 

  ---

  This entry is a good example of how to present timeworn material in a somewhat fresh way. After someone has blogged for three or more years, he/she might find that every holiday, as they peruse the myriad “Easter” posts, or “Hallowe’en” posts, or “Christmas” posts, that they, too, have to “decorate” their site, and in effect turn their blog into a Hallmark card on the internet. I don’t do this, but i do try to fashion entries that pay lip service to the holiday, yet remain “new” in some way. This is a Photopost, with some snapshots of my home, which is having a new bathroom added, as I blogged about on Nov. 9 This is an ElectricPoetry Post, contianing my latest poem.  I’ve written about half a dozen “Thanksgiving Prayers” since 1972, when I penned my first one. I was in the midst of depression then, at only age 19, right after my mother’s first stroke. I wrote the latest ”installment” of the Thanksgiving Prayer series this morning, while feeling a bit of trepidation in my existence, as I am positively aware that the renovation going on with my rented home, will cause our rent to raise even higher, and I’m at the end of my financial rope as it is. But this is not the time of year to reflect on past disappointments, but to concentrate on what I am truly thankful for. (At least with two bathrooms Joel and I won’t ever “clash” again concerning shower times in the mornings.) This entry also serves as my Internet Island blogring topic entry for Topic #20.05: Thanksgiving. MFN (ppf) 

  • 8:15 am
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