David Ferry has a poem, "That Evening At Dinner," the ending of which sums up yesterday's dinner for many (just substitute turkey for the fish):
The dinner was delicious, fresh greens, and reds,I hope you don't think that on the basis of my selection for today, that I had one of those types of Thanksgiving dinners. I DID NOT! This year we did something a little unusual. For a change we didn't drive from New Hampshire to the metropolitan New York area on Wednesday. What a blessed relief not to have to sit in traffic for six hours!
And yellows, produce of the season due,
And fish from the nearby sea; and there were also
Ashes to be eaten, and dirt to drink.
Read the rest here.
Then, yesterday morning, we took part in the Feaster Five road race in Andover, Massachusetts. I'm not a runner, so another family member and I walked, but several in the family did run.
We made it! 5K! It took a wee bit longer than we would have liked--it was about 10 minutes before we got to the "start" point after all the runners began, then we had a few tie-ups when ambulances and fire trucks had to get by during the race.
After the race, rather than stuff ourselves with turkey, mashed potatoes, and ten thousand side dishes, we had a Thanksgiving brunch with a frittata, coffee cake, and fresh fruit. Not too much food, so we avoided the "please let me puke" phase of the usual dinner.
For us, a smaller, differently celebrated Thanksgiving was a welcomed change!
Despite it being a holiday weekend, the Poetry Friday Round-Up is still being held. Our host on this "Black Friday" is Jone at Check It Out.
Update: Look at this awesome time lapse video of the race:
© Lussier Photography
That poem is just stunning. Great poets have that ability, to feel deeply and also tell a truth.
ReplyDelete..."Like others, though, she had
Survived her childhood somehow."
Thank you so much for showing me this poem. There is a T-Day race in the vicinity called The Turkey Trot. Many people wear costumes while they do the run. It is often bitterly cold. It speaks to the human spirit that a person would run on such a day dressed as a sock monkey.
Yes, it was cold yesterday, too, about 31 degrees when we met up, but, that didn't stop the young man who dressed in a grass skirt (shorts underneath), two coconuts across his chest, and that was it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, Diane--I generally believe that a poem should say what it has to in under a page, but I make exceptions where warranted! What fine closing lines.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to find new traditions. Glad you enjoyed yours so much!
Thankfully, I've never had one of "those" Thanksgiving dinners, and I'm all about inventing new traditions. Still trying to get my head around receiving a free pie at the end of a 5K!!!
ReplyDelete