Let’s not forget that no matter what transpired after the gathering of 1621, two groups of people did get together in peace. The Native tribes had recently come through a 90% population reduction because of a smallpox pandemic due to “unwashed” Europeans and the English had just come through their first winter having lost half of their people because of starvation. Thanks to the local tribes, these English survived and it seems as if the three-day celebration was an act of “Thanksgiving”. The problem was not Thanksgiving. The problem was in not maintaining Thanksgiving. If Thanksgiving had been maintained, peace could have spread across the land instead of colonization, war and ownership. Before we come down too hard on Thanksgiving, let’s think about it for a minute. This was a mutual peace offering. As we gather together during this current pandemic and attack on our mutual liberties, let’s love one another and be thankful. Let this be another chance for peace to spread. They didn’t know what the future held back in 1621, and 400 years later we don’t, either, but it’s been said that the only way to peace is peace. I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving … everyone … no exceptions.
THANKSGIVING REVISITED
From the dawn of history
when the people were one
and the gatherings weren’t of need
but were life,
there was nothing to turn back to,
nowhere to come from,
just moving forward
from dawn into life.]
The paths through the centuries,
in a most auspicious trend,
is like an owl through the night with a message
in search of the one person
it needs to find and send
in the direction of a clear and cherished passage.
Spring’s thaw, Summer’s heat,
Autumn’s wind and Winter’s cold
formulate our thoughts
like migrating birds in flight,
searching for a season
and someplace to take hold,
germinating our future in the dead of the night.
And the shifting changes that occur along the way
have proven themselves to be more than true.
And because we all have to pass
through night and through day
should be proof that there’s more to it
than just you.
Silence, sun and the rain,
changes with the wind,
show Creation is not ending
because Life is not a distance or a presence
that has a beginning or an end,
still unfolds a flower by its insistence
There’s a stirring in our spirit
and a wandering in our souls
for connections that our hearts want and need.
And a gathering of the people
once more is our goal
so we search for a place
to plant the seed.
We listen to the wind
and hunger to know the words
of a language we left far behind.
Gaze through windows
at the flight of migratory birds
in search of that same kindred mind.
As tomorrow draws near
we stand upon a scattered past
that at times found us lost
but never out of reach
from the voice of the wind,
or a moon shadow cast,
or from what the howl of the wolf had to teach.
The separateness created
from our long ago exclusion
of that language understood
by the first people
gave rise to the loneliness
and heartfelt confusion
by locking God up within steeples.
We thrust out our hands
from a memory we didn’t store.
From another lifetime
we try to lift the burden.
And a pilgrim is fed,
the first people gather once more,
remember, plant the seed,
re-teach your children.
— Crow Suncloud
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