Just be thankful

Prayer of Thanksgiving This table, set with centerpiece, Fine China, silverware— Has food prepared deliciously With tender loving care. With hungry eyes, I relish this This meal, my daily bread Then fold my hands and bow my head Before my prayer is said. I do recite it quick and slurred, Though with the best intent— And now that grace is said and heard, It is a blessed event. The phrases I was taught to say Were pressed down deep in me But words are empty without thoughts Of pure sincerity. Yes, just before I eat, I pray, But there’s a place so crude Which moves me closer to the truth That others have no food. It haunts me as I look around, The visions of the starved Who wide-eyed blankly stare at me Behind my turkey, carved. I see their bloated tummies and The flies around their eyes. I hear soft moans from babies lips, And echoes of their cries. I taste the mush that they call food. It lingers on my breath. I feel the tears start down my cheeks. I smell the stench of death. I hesitate with my first bite, Then ask myself, “Do I Really care they’re teary eyed And hungry ’til they die?” I pray that all the “least of these” Are eating well in Heav’n. Please help me Lord, to understand The blessings I was giv’n So now when I recite my prayer, As I sit down to feast, I ask myself if I’m sincere And thankful in the least. For that’s when I can hear my voice Ascending to His ear. He knows if I speak empty words Or if I am sincere. “Prayer of Thanksgiving” is a Christian poem It encourages us to remain sincere and remember those less fortunate than us.]]>