A Room of My Own: Foggy Thanksgiving Tanka

Between Heaven and Hell, X

Thanksgiving dawns

chilly with patches of fog

red states, blue states

and those in between

alone together, then alone ...

Added: Between Heaven and Hell, XI

Ritual of This Post-Election Thanksgiving

roast turkey

pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes ...

half eaten, half spoken

Trump news on mute

the faint smell of leftovers

... and things unsaid

fireplace embers ...

clink-clink-clinking of glasses

fills our silence

TV's dim light

our back-and-forth monologue

on Black Friday deals

false dawn 

in my sleep I hear thank God

this is us

FYI: Miami Herald, Opinion, Nov. 23: This post-election Thanksgiving, we all have the power to soften our hardened hearts 

As we gather for Thanksgiving, the Biden-Trump handshake provides food for thought. During the holidays, we hope that gratitude, forgiveness, hospitality and love can work wonders. We don’t have to hate each other. We are not bound to return tit-for-tat. Human beings are free and creative. We can choose to forgive, to forget and to turn a new leaf...

There is an important difference between ritualized civility and a deeper spirit of sincere gratitude and generosity. One could, after all, give thanks mechanically or as a matter of courtesy without actually feeling grateful. The deeper spirit of gracious generosity is not a ritualized performance. Rather, it is a way of being.

But the rituals of civil society are important. Symbolic gestures like handshakes are powerful, and virtues are developed through practice.

A student of Confucius once asked the master how to learn to be good. Confucius replied, “Overcome yourself and return to ritual.” We learn to be good by setting aside our egos and playing along with the customs of civilized life, even when we don’t want to.

Added: Between Heaven and Hell, XII

Trump news blackout

the calm between us holds

a world unspoken

Added: 

Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches

quiet between my half-awake wife 

and half-asleep me 

Added:

autumn wind in trees

should have, could have and might have

swirling in my mind