"Around the Table" by Sierra July, Poet of the Week

Around the Table

Sierra July

Traced hands with paper feathers attached

Guests from close by dropping in,

Calls from those afar

Laughter travels and fills each room

Starting with the family table

Where all have gathered

Feeling warmth from holding hands in grace

From the smoke rising off the food

And from their contented hearts

Even when their plates have emptied soon,

Their stomachs a good while later

Memories of family still live on

Poet's Notes:  This one was written with Thanksgiving in mind, though my goal was not to make just another seasonal piece but a poem that could conjure the warmth of familiar bonds and friendship no matter what time of year. The dinner could be on any night and the gathering on any day. But I did also include an image that could paint a sense of Thanksgiving nostalgia--the first line, thinking of how teachers made kids trace their hands or use paper plates to make the body of a turkey and then cut paper feathers to attach to it.

Editor’s Note:  Ah, the traced hand turkey!  Universal symbol of the elementary school aged child’s Thanksgiving experience.  Sierra has certainly captured the spirit of Thanksgiving with this and the many other nostalgic elements of her poem.  From the editors and staff of Songs of Eretz, we wish you all a happy, warm, and comforting holiday.