Thanksgiving Opus 3 (2025)

Forty years ago or so, a lumberjack took

a cherry tree from the forest floor.

Freshly hewn, the trunk was hoisted

onto a tractor-trailer bed

for a journey to the mill,

where an experienced sawyer

brandished a pitsaw to cut

lumber to length for a skilled craftsman,

who designed and built and joined the table

at which we all now sit.

Ethan Allen called it Georgian court

Funny, that was where I lived

and to this very day, I wonder

how we paid for it.

 And I think about

the patience of this table,

waiting to be filled.

So

Let’s take this moment then,

look around and welcome in

thoughts of all the

steps that had to happen,

all the windows that had to open,

for the fourteen of us to be together

at this 40-year-old table.

Today, we are crowded (finally)

and aren’t we fortunate

to experience this life together,

sheltered from the coming weather

in a warm home around a long table

filled with food for a feast?

In the weeks leading up to this

I sat in the quiet and reminisced

Of buying this table

more than three decades ago.

For this moment.

For it to be full.

Each seat occupied by each one of you

(and some of whom we didn’t even yet know).

For this, I am so grateful.

So very, very thankful.