courtesy of Chris Britt, The State Journal-Register

This is not my Thanksgiving
Meat cooking in the oven, parents readying themselves for the night’s festivities
My brother in from the academic institution I once attended
A mix of house cleanliness and unease over my mother’s operation tomorrow
But this is not my Thanksgiving
This is a call to attention to counting our blessings
On a day after Mumbai becomes overrun by young terrorists
On a day when over 3.5 million people were affected negatively
By the storms in Rio de Janeiro
On a day when Iraq and Afghani deaths have eclipsed 30,000
Not too casual considering the casualties
Boys in Queens throw their future away for a few shots of Vodka
Young men broadcast their suicides on MySpace
Girls gone missing, unreported, threatened, tortured,
Whose whole family is murdered for all to see
This is not my Thanksgiving
My inheritance: an undesired bailout to companies unwilling to bail us out
From their profit-mongering methods
Their poisoning of our collective consciousness
Homes stripped,
Aimless,
Hopeless
Toxin popularity on the rise
A cycle of oppression over turkey continues
But this is not my Thanksgiving
This is my prayer,
A yell out for a better Earth
Where counting our blessings becomes higher on our priority list
Than our profit count or a body count …

Jose, who sends out his best wishes to the world today, thankful for what he recieves …

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