Thanksgiving Day
In the family kitchen
A cradle of holiday spices
Roast turkey, sage, pumpkin pie
Grateful fragrances
Sweeten the air
This house
Once a lively hub
Now feels somber, quiet
Four gather
Where five voices
Once bantered
Now silence hovers
Over the chair
He left behind
Mother stirs the gravy
Counter-clockwise
As if her hand
Could whisk back time
Her thoughts adrift
Between the now and then
Father carves the bird
With practiced care
Each slice, a gesture
Weighed down by loss
A ritual grown heavier
The eldest daughter
Sets the table
Fingers brushing
The untouched plate
Chills race up her hand
Each knife, each fork
A shard of memory
She turns away
From the empty seat
Afraid to meet
The ache it bears
Heads bowed
The father's voice
Burdened with sorrow
Utters the orison:
Dear Lord
We come to You
With saddened hearts
Yet thankful
For Your presence
As we gather
Around this table
We ask for Your comfort
Surround this family
With Your peace
Amen
The prayer
A fragile flame
Rises gracefully
For a moment
Time halts
The room listens
As if waiting
For a knock at the door
For him to return
With his hearty greeting
His familiar grin
But only the wind
Presses its sighs
Against the window
Bold enough
To break the quiet
The younger daughter recalls
Her brother's Thanksgiving idea:
To deep fry the turkey
But the oil, too hot
Nearly set the garage
Ablaze
Her voice
Though soft
Sparks a glow
Faces lift
Smiles spread slowly
“He was always trying something new”
The father adds, chuckling
A hint of mirth
Slips into the den
And for a fleeting breath
He lives again
In their words
Each bite they take
Threaded with the past
They feast
On the flavor
Of memory
~@~
Night drapes softly
And the dishes clear away
The hearth mutters
Its amber glow
Mother moves toward the photograph
His face, a sunbeam locked in time
“Happy Thanksgiving, love”
She whispers
Her words dissolving
Like mist in firelight
The family lingers
By the empty chair
His absence heavy
Yet there's something more—
A sense that even loss holds light
That bonds, though distant
Never fade
Together they sit
Quiet, grateful
Not healed, but whole
Outside
Frost tickles the glass
But on this Thanksgiving Day
There's warmth within
In time, the cold will wane
For now, they cling to one another
Knowing that even
In the longest nights—
Love remains
