“Thanksgiving Time”

Langston Hughes, (1921)

When the night winds whistle through the trees and blow the crisp brown leaves a-crackling down,
When the autumn moon is big and yellow-orange and round,
When old Jack Frost is sparkling on the ground,
It’s Thanksgiving time!

When the pantry jars are full of mince-meat and the shelves are laden with sweet-spices for a cake,
When the butcher man sends up a turkey nice and fat to bake,
When the stores are crammed with everything ingenious cooks can make,
It’s Thanksgiving time!

When the gales of coming winter outside your window howl,
When the air is sharp and cheery so it drives away your scowl,
When one’s appetite craves turkkey and will have no other fowl,
It’s Thanksgiving time!

Published in The Brownies’ Book, November 1921

We hope you are enjoying your Thanksgiving weekend surrounded by friends and family!