A Thanksgiving Poem for America
by Jaci Turner
Today we bow our heads—not in certainty,
but in recognition of how fragile a country is
when truth is contested
and courage is optional.
We remember Washington’s plea
for a government “wise, just, and faithful,”
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and wonder how he’d see us now—
a nation splitting at the seams,
yet still reaching for the thread
that might hold us together.
We give thanks for the quiet patriots—
the election workers counting under threat,
the teachers shielding curiosity,
the journalists who keep asking,
the citizens who still believe
that legality and morality
should not be strangers.
We give thanks for those
who stand guard over the Constitution
not with noise,
but with steadiness—
those who protect the idea of America
even when America struggles
to protect itself.
Nov 27, 2025 14:30And we ask, humbly:
let our laws be just,
let our leaders be honest,
let our neighbors remember
that democracy depends
on the small, ordinary bravery
of choosing truth over tribe.
May we grow into the nation
we keep promising to be.
May gratitude soften us enough
to listen again.
May wisdom and empathy return
to the places
where power gathers.
And may we—
ordinary, imperfect, hopeful—
still be a people worthy
of the blessing we seek.
