Today marks one full week since the observance of Thanksgiving. As it does, it is worth asking whether any vestige of that highly promoted holiday still remains.
According to gifted writer and teacher, Dean Traylor, indeed something does. His recently posted free verse poem titled “Talkin' Turkey: An After-Thanksgiving Poem” fittingly makes his case. Maybe you, like me, can relate to his words.
Turkey in the morning
Turkey at noon
Turkey for Dinner
And
Turkey as a snack
All that meat
After the feast
Left over
For someone to eat
But it doesn't vanish
It doesn't go away
It's in the fridge
Waiting
For the ritual after Thanksgiving
To begin.
So it becomes
Turkey for breakfast
Turkey with eggs
Turkey for Lunch
In between breads
Turkey for Dinner
Turkey for snacks
There's too much turkey
That one can take
Maybe ground it like beef
And have it as a burger
Or slice it in pieces
And have it with mayo and mustard.
Or by itself
Hot
Cold
The choice is yours.
Either way
The situation remains the same;
Have a turkey
Then fall asleep.
Or if you can't stomach more
Some Pepsid (sic) AC
To take away its burning retort.
Every year
The feast after
Thanksgiving
Continues.
One can stop
And leave the meat
In the fridge
But do so and remember
That scent will be there
Reeling you in.
You can't ignore
Those leftovers
That turkey doesn't go away.
Keep trying as you may
That turkey will never go away.
Turkey Lingers
He follows up his poem with these insightful thoughts…
Let's face it: the Thanksgiving turkey doesn't go away in a day. It lingers for a week, slowly being consumed when one gets the urge to do so. It goes from being carved up for Thanksgiving, to becoming leftovers in a moment's notice.
I can't recall a time the turkey was enough to last for one day. That almost never happens. It's a big bird that seemingly gets bigger every year. Even a family of four can't polish them off in one sitting.
I've lost count of the numerous packed lunches I've had with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Sometimes, the offerings would last for days or a week. Rarely will it go for two weeks. By that time, you simply get sick of seeing turkey.
In a nutshell, that's what this poem is about. What happens when a ceremonial meal with a lot of symbolic meaning simply becomes nothing more than tired leftovers. Maybe there's a warning for us all in these verses....nah! It's just a silly poem about Thanksgiving (or the days after it).
How right Mr. Traylor is. There is indeed a warning here. For so often, the turkey lingers and lingers and lingers. But, alas, what has become of the thankfulness that supposedly prompted last week’s original celebratory feast? In truth, in just seven short days, much of it has completely faded away.
As you chew on all that turkey, let it remind you to chew on one more thing. Let it remind you to keep on chewing on the those things that you were so faithful to espouse on Thanksgiving Day – those things you counted as your blessings and for which you said you were truly thankful on that day.
Surely, if turkey is worth keeping around and revisiting on a regular basis in the days and weeks after Thanksgiving, then so is a spirit of appreciation to the Lord Who gives us not only the sustenance we need but also the appetite to enjoy it!
So feel free to talk turkey this week. But remember to talk freely with the Lord as well! Leftovers may last for a short time, but as King David once reminded us: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; and his love endures forever.”
POEM SOURCE:
https://letterpile.com/poetry/Talkin-Turkey-an-After-Thanksgiving-Poem.
SCRIPTURE SOURCE:
https://biblehub.com/niv/1_chronicles/16.htm.
According to gifted writer and teacher, Dean Traylor, indeed something does. His recently posted free verse poem titled “Talkin' Turkey: An After-Thanksgiving Poem” fittingly makes his case. Maybe you, like me, can relate to his words.
Turkey in the morning
Turkey at noon
Turkey for Dinner
And
Turkey as a snack
All that meat
After the feast
Left over
For someone to eat
But it doesn't vanish
It doesn't go away
It's in the fridge
Waiting
For the ritual after Thanksgiving
To begin.
So it becomes
Turkey for breakfast
Turkey with eggs
Turkey for Lunch
In between breads
Turkey for Dinner
Turkey for snacks
There's too much turkey
That one can take
Maybe ground it like beef
And have it as a burger
Or slice it in pieces
And have it with mayo and mustard.
Or by itself
Hot
Cold
The choice is yours.
Either way
The situation remains the same;
Have a turkey
Then fall asleep.
Or if you can't stomach more
Some Pepsid (sic) AC
To take away its burning retort.
Every year
The feast after
Thanksgiving
Continues.
One can stop
And leave the meat
In the fridge
But do so and remember
That scent will be there
Reeling you in.
You can't ignore
Those leftovers
That turkey doesn't go away.
Keep trying as you may
That turkey will never go away.
Turkey Lingers
He follows up his poem with these insightful thoughts…
Let's face it: the Thanksgiving turkey doesn't go away in a day. It lingers for a week, slowly being consumed when one gets the urge to do so. It goes from being carved up for Thanksgiving, to becoming leftovers in a moment's notice.
I can't recall a time the turkey was enough to last for one day. That almost never happens. It's a big bird that seemingly gets bigger every year. Even a family of four can't polish them off in one sitting.
I've lost count of the numerous packed lunches I've had with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Sometimes, the offerings would last for days or a week. Rarely will it go for two weeks. By that time, you simply get sick of seeing turkey.
In a nutshell, that's what this poem is about. What happens when a ceremonial meal with a lot of symbolic meaning simply becomes nothing more than tired leftovers. Maybe there's a warning for us all in these verses....nah! It's just a silly poem about Thanksgiving (or the days after it).
How right Mr. Traylor is. There is indeed a warning here. For so often, the turkey lingers and lingers and lingers. But, alas, what has become of the thankfulness that supposedly prompted last week’s original celebratory feast? In truth, in just seven short days, much of it has completely faded away.
As you chew on all that turkey, let it remind you to chew on one more thing. Let it remind you to keep on chewing on the those things that you were so faithful to espouse on Thanksgiving Day – those things you counted as your blessings and for which you said you were truly thankful on that day.
Surely, if turkey is worth keeping around and revisiting on a regular basis in the days and weeks after Thanksgiving, then so is a spirit of appreciation to the Lord Who gives us not only the sustenance we need but also the appetite to enjoy it!
So feel free to talk turkey this week. But remember to talk freely with the Lord as well! Leftovers may last for a short time, but as King David once reminded us: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; and his love endures forever.”
POEM SOURCE:
https://letterpile.com/poetry/Talkin-Turkey-an-After-Thanksgiving-Poem.
SCRIPTURE SOURCE:
https://biblehub.com/niv/1_chronicles/16.htm.