Thursday, November 23, 2006

THANKSGIVING

by Esther Greenleaf Murer


My browser is taking a poll:
What are you most thankful for?
        a) turkey
        b) football
        c) shopping

For the turkey
whose mana we ingest
so that we too
can be stuffed
to immobility
and impotence
let us be virtually thankful.

For images of stylized mayhem
with arbitrary rules
which we can safely
watch from our roost
and pretend that
the outcome matters
let us be virtually thankful.

for the constant stream
of clutter which gives
our lives meaning
and helps us
outgrow our coops
let us be virtually thankful.

For protection from a world
with real anguish
and real mourning
and maybe even repentance
not to mention
blessings worth counting
let us be virtually thankful.


Esther Greenleaf Murer lives in Philadelphia. She has published poetry in Friends Journal, Guinea Pig Zero, Folly,and the New Verse News.