Reading Level: Grade 2
Topics: Animal Poems, Food Poems, Holiday Poems, Seasonal Poems, Thanksgiving
Poetic Techniques: Repetition
Word Count: 64

About This Poem

Toward the end of the year, beginning in October, I like to write poems about the holidays, including Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.
In America, Thanksgiving is celebrated every year on the last Thursday of November. It’s a day of giving thanks for all that we have; family, friends, food, and more. Many families celebrate with a big feast that includes lots of salads, vegetables, and desserts. But the main course is usually a roasted turkey.
This year I wrote a couple of Thanksgiving poems, including this one. I was thinking about how vegetarian families wouldn’t cook a turkey for their Thanksgiving dinner. Moreover, if a vegetarian family had a pet turkey, I would have to imagine that he would be very thankful that he was not being served up for dinner.
Perhaps you could write a poem about what you are thankful for this year. Even better, try writing a poem from the perspective of an animal or a plant. Cats might be thankful for tuna, and flowers might be thankful for sunshine and bees. Use your imagination and see what you can come up with.

From the book My Cat Knows Karate

Use This Poem

Would you like to use this poem in your classroom? Would you like permission to reprint, record, recite or broadcast this poem, or set it to music? Please click on one of the following links for permissions and reprint rights information:

• Webmasters
• Students
• Teachers
• Publishers, editors and anthologists