I recently found A Gathering of Poetry which encourages poetry loving bloggers to offer a personal salute to a favorite poem or a recently discovered poet by sharing the verses on the third Thursday of the month. (If this is not correct, I hope Kym or Kat will gently nudge me in the right direction.)
As I will help with Sunday morning worship on Thanksgiving weekend, I moved from poem to poem this week seeking that “perfect” reading suitable for this food focused holiday but with a goal not to mention turkeys, pumpkin pie, or marshmallow sweet potato casserole. Our former poet laureate, Joy Harjo, provided the inspiration.
Perhaps the World Ends Here
The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live.
The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table. So it has been since creation, and it will go on.
We chase chickens or dogs away from it. Babies teethe at the corners. They scrape their knees under it.
It is here that children are given instructions on what it means to be human. We make men at it, we make women.
At this table we gossip, recall enemies and the ghosts of lovers.
Our dreams drink coffee with us as they put their arms around our children. They laugh with us at our poor falling-down selves and as we put ourselves back together once again at the table.
This table has been a house in the rain, an umbrella in the sun.
Wars have begun and ended at this table. It is a place to hide in the shadow of terror. A place to celebrate the terrible victory.
We have given birth on this table, and have prepared our parents for burial here.
At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow. We pray of suffering and remorse. We give thanks. Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table, while we are laughing and crying, eating of the last sweet bite.
Bibliographic notes: From The Woman Who Fell From the Sky (W. W. Norton, 1994) by Joy Harjo. Copyright © 1994 by Joy Harjo.
Photo credit: Pexels-pixabay
Knit+ Librarian 
Your search was fruitful as you’ve found the perfect poem for the upcoming food-focused holiday! My kitchen table is an old one I found at a yard sale, and it has served my family well through teething, homework, gossip, and dreams. This poem is one I’ll return to often as Joy Harjo says so much through it. We do “A Gathering of Poetry” on the third Thursday of the month and you are always welcome to join in and share whatever poem may have spoken to you. Thank you, and I’m so glad you joined us this month!
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What a beautiful poem! I have sound so many good poems reading posts from Kym and Bonny. This morning I read an email from Padraig O’Tuoma about how he processes a poem for the Poetry Unbound podcast. So thoughtful.
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