I Forget to Remember
A Thanksgiving Poem
By Ethan Holmes
Too often I forget to remember, to pause a moment among many distractions,
Life pulls at us here and there, first this way and that, then upside down,
Till there are times when you are lost, hopeless, hapless and ungrateful,
Too often I forget, this is the time to choose stillness, to cease the pulling, the tearing,
the grasping and reaching
I forget to remember, to look around and inward for a fleeting second or two,
To see what I am, who I am, what I strive to be, my hopes and dreams, my goals yet unattained,
To take stock of what I have of things not material, of things vital to joyful life,
And yes, to be grateful, to say thank you to everyone and no one and every thing,
I forget to remember to be thankful, for health, for food, for shelter from cold and rain,
For mobility, freedom to move about borne of my own volition, freedom to be still,
To extend gratefulness where none is required or asked, to offer kindness where none exists,
And though they be few of number, for friends always there and never far
Too often I forget to remember to be truly grateful, and extend my gratitude to others,
That they too, in turn, may remember to be thankful and pass it kindly to the next,
To take the most fleeting moments of life as an interlude on the way to grace,
To enshrine such grace with gentle acts of unselfish benevolence
I will remember to forget what remains to be ungrateful for, what grievance, unkindness and troubles,
I will remember all that is left is to be grateful.
There are a great many times in our lives when we simply forget to stop and say thank you for the many things we have in life, things we take for granted and give no second thought to whatever. Perhaps Thanksgiving can be time to give that second thought.
What do you think? How will you participate in Thanksgiving this year?
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