Read and share them all year long.
Every item on this page was hand-picked by a House Beautiful editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.
Part of celebrating Thanksgiving is to reflect on gratitude and there's no better way to express it than with poetry! We've rounded up twenty-five gratitude poems to read, reflect on, and share this Thanksgiving, all year long, or whenever you're feeling grateful, really. From historical poems to contemporary works, this collection features everything from abstract pieces that pay tribute to the beauty, love, and connection all around us to works that offer perspective on the problematic roots of the holiday. Whatever you're searching for, keep reading to see some of the most moving Thanksgiving poems we've found.
"Oh, greenly and fair in the lands of the sun,
The vines of the gourd and the rich melon run,
And the rock and the tree and the cottage enfold,
With broad leaves all greenness and blossoms all gold,
Like that which o'er Nineveh's prophet once grew,
While he waited to know that his warning was true,
And longed for the storm-cloud, and listened in vain
For the rush of the whirlwind and red fire-rain"
Read the full poem at Poetryfoundation.com.
"ONE day is there of the series
Termed Thanksgiving day,
Celebrated part at table,
Part in memory."
Read the full poem in The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson.
"Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude."
Read the full poem on Poetryfoundation.org.
"Greetings fly fast as we crowd through the door
And under the old roof we gather once more
Just as we did when the youngsters were small;
Mother’s a little bit grayer, that’s all.
Father’s a little bit older, but still
Ready to romp an’ to laugh with a will.
Here we are back at the table again
Tellin’ our stories as women an’ men."
Read the whole poem on Poetry Foundation.
"To you who now so nobly do
A noble deed;
Who now instill the virtues true
To virtuous need;
Whose mission is so truly good—
So full of kindly brotherhood—
Who live the life you surely should—
A trusty lead"
Read the full poem on Poetry.org.
"There’s not a day in all the year
But holds some hidden pleasure,
And looking back, joys oft appear
To brim the past’s wide measure.
But blessings are like friends, I hold,
Who love and labor near us.
We ought to raise our notes of praise
While living hearts can hear us."
Read the full poem on Poetry.org.
"It is the Harvest Moon! On gilded vanes
And roofs of villages, on woodland crests
And their aerial neighborhoods of nests
Deserted, on the curtained window-panes
Of rooms where children sleep, on country lanes
And harvest-fields, its mystic splendor rests!"
Read the whole poem on Poets.org.
"Doth not each rain-drop help to form
The cool refreshing shower?
And every ray of light to warm
And beautify the flower?"
Read the full poem on Discoverpoetry.com.
"Over the river and through the wood,
To have first-rate play.
Hear the bells ring,
"Ting-a-ling-ding!"
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!"
Read the full poem on Poetry Foundation.
"And already still November
Drapes her snowy table here.
Fetch a log, then; coax the ember;
Fill your hearts with old-time cheer;
Heaven be thanked for one more year,
And our Thanksgiving turkey!"
Read the full poem on Poets.org.
Our favorite quote from May Yang's poem:
"That I could be this human at this time
breathing, looking, seeing, smelling"
Read the full poem on Poets.org.
Our favorite quote from Jane Hirshfield's poem:
"To let your body/ love this world/ that gave itself to your care/ in all of its ripeness,/ with ease"
Read the rest of Jane Hirshfield's poem in The October Palace.
Our favorite quote from Anna Swir's poem:
"I don’t know whether this is joy/ or sadness,/ I don’t understand
what I feel"
Read the full poem Anna Swir's Talking to My Body.
Our favorite quote from Gwendolyn Brooks's poem:
"Warning, in music-words/ devout and large,/ that we are each/ other’s/ harvest"
Read the full poem by Gwendolyn Brooks in The Essential Gwendolyn Brooks.
Our favorite quote from Ada Limón's poem:
"that song that’s our birthright,/ that’s sung in silence when it’s too hard to go on."
Read the full poem on Poetryfoundation.org.
Our favorite quote from Ross Gay's poem:
"Walk/ through the garden's dormant splendor./ Say only, thank you./ Thank you."
Read the whole poem by Ross Gay in Against Which.
Our favorite quote from Elizabeth Alexander's poem:
"When I picture/ the good old days I am grinning greasy/ with my brother"
Read the full poem on Poetry Foundation.
Our favorite quote from Joy Harjo's poem:
"Remember the sky that you were born under,/ know each of the star’s stories./ Remember the moon, know who she is."
Read the full poem in Joy Harjo's book She Had Some Horses.
Our favorite quote from Alberto Ríos's poem:
"Giving has many faces"
Read the full poem on Poets.org.
Our favorite quote from Allison Adelle Hedge Coke's poem:
"Oh, before America began to sing, I sung her to sleep."
Read the full poem in Allison Adelle Hedge Coke's book Stream.
Why Do We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving?
Design Insiders on Where to Buy Holiday Flowers
17 Non-Tacky Thanksgiving Tabletop Pieces to Buy
21 Fall Wreaths to Get Your Home Ready for Cozy Season
