Poem for Friday

Proem
By Mark Strand

"This is my Main Street," he said as he started off
That morning, leaving the town to the others,
Entering the high-woods tipped in pink

By the rising sun but still dark where he walked.
"This is the way," he continued as he watched
For the great space that he felt sure

Would open before him, a stark sea over which
The turbulent sky would drop the shadowy shapes
Of its song, and he would move his arms

And begin to mark, almost as a painter would,
The passages of greater and lesser worth, the silken
Tropes and calls to this or that, coarsely conceived,

Echoing and blasting all around. He would whip them
Into shape. Everything would have an edge. The burning
Will of weather, blowing overhead, would be his muse.

"This is the life," he said, as he reached the first
Of many outer edges to the sea he sought, and he buttoned
His coat, and turned up his collar, and began to breathe.

--------

We had a rather eventful Thanksgiving Day unexpectedly when my parents lost power in the early afternoon. My mother called, panicked, to ask whether she could bring the turkey over to roast in our kitchen, and arrived with all three of Nicole's kids in tow. So we had six kids (ours, hers, plus Adam's best friend) for more than an hour, plus Paul's parents who had come early to hang out with the kids, though they got more kids than they bargained for. I think the cats were the most traumatized, however, as everyone wanted to pet them and pick them up long after they had had enough of playing!

My parents got their power back later in the afternoon, and we went over with the turkey and kids to hang out with them, Nicole and Harris. I didn't really pay attention to the Green Bay-Detroit game except to notice that every time I looked, Green Bay appeared to be winning, and I saw enough of the Dallas-Jets game to be grateful that we were going to eat and I didn't have to see more (also saw the beginning of the Kelly Clarkson halftime show and was really grateful to be distracted from that!). I'm bad at thankfulness lists...I always want to add all the things I should be doing more to protect or to share (health, family, the environment, freedom of speech, travel, organic food, books, the ocean, etc. etc.)


Paul put the Mayflower on the cookie cake this year (here are the ones from 2005 and 2006 versions).


Around the table with Nicole's family...


...the kids...


...and my father, me and Paul and my in-laws.


Earlier in the day our neighbors let our kids and their cousins pet their new bunny, obtained at the county fair. (This is their older bunny.)


These are my nieces with the bunny...


...and here they are with our cats.


The cats were not absolutely thrilled at this turn of events. *g*


The Wii brings all generations together (and the neighbors, too)!

I hope everyone has had a happy, healthy, safe Thanksgiving -- or, if you're not in the US, a happy, healthy, safe Thursday. And good luck if you're trying to shop on Friday, hahaha!