A Thanksgiving Day Poem by Sara Brogdon

The day of Thanksgiving has finally come round,
And I’m stuck here in this quaint redneck town.
Amanda and I, stewed to the gills,
Are complaining of Bush and his staunch Right-wing will.

The Tofurky is turning a rich, golden hue
while Amanda protests, "What can we do?!"
A moronic puppet is in control, alas!
The hand of Christianity shoved up his ass.

Ramie, the chef, is slaving away
Preparing the feast to be devoured today.
"Our government may be headin’ for the crapper,
But just for today, pretend it doesn’t matter.

"Have another drink and a piece of Tofurky
You’ll feel better when you can’t see or think clearly."
We took his advice, and with beer in hand
All of us soon, were three sheets to the wind.

The world we live in may very well be scary,
So everyone, take heart! Eat, drink, and be merry!
Good food and good friends and a well mixed martini
Make everything grand! (even a Texas weeny)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

In honor of my mother on her birthday...

My mother loved daffodils, and I thought this an appropriate poem to remember her on this day.

To Daffodils
by Robert Herrick
Fair Daffodils, we weep to see
You haste away so soon;
As yet the early-rising sun
Has not attain'd his noon.
Stay, stay, Until the hasting day
Has run
But to the even-song;
And, having pray'd together, we
Will go with you along.

We have short time to stay, as you,
We have as short a spring;
As quick a growth to meet decay,
As you, or anything.
We die
As your hours do, and dry
Away,
Like to the summer's rain;
Or as the pearls of morning's dew,
Ne'er to be found again.

Man vs. Nature

So, I was having a great day today. I went for a run, worked in my "garden" (translate: potted plants), did yoga, and just generally relaxed. Then, I decided to come into work at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. The building I work in is a huge glass and metal monstrosity. When it was built, dozens of old, beautiful trees were ripped from the ground and pulverized (picture the scene in LOR when the Ents are weeping). In their place was planted puny, scraggly garden trees - not enough for shade or for birds. It's depressingly bare. The other horrible thing about this building is that it systematically and silenty picks off little, jeweled birds one by one, leaving their carcasses to rot in the dirt and grass at its feet. The three story glass walls confuse the birds and they fly into them at full speed. Usually they die instantly from impact. But, today... I was walking along and I saw a beautiful, emerald green bird with a bright yellow throat and belly sitting by the building. As I approached it, I saw that it could barely stand and was missing the feathers on the top of its head (where a large blood-red welt appeared). It had been lured by the bewitching glass structure to its ultimate death. I sat down by the little bird and stroked its head and back. It opened its eyes and looked at me. I could see how much pain it was in. The poor thing was shaking, and trying so hard to recover. I cried. I don't understand this world. I've tried so hard to get Ga Tech to do something about this problem, but I'm ignored. I can't comprehend a world that chooses to let the jewels of nature be lost so that we can marvel at the beguiling architectures of man. I think Tolkien aptly captures humanity with his depiction of man versus nature, in which the ugly, power-hungy Orcs systematically destroy the natural realm around them to promote industrialization.

A Bird Came Down by Emily Dickinson
A bird came down the walk:
He did not know I saw;
He bit an angle-worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw.

And then he drank a dew
From a convenient grass,
And then hopped sidewise to the wall
To let a beetle pass.

He glanced with rapid eyes
That hurried all abroad,--
They looked like frightened beads, I thought;
He stirred his velvet head

Like one in danger; cautious,
I offered him a crumb,
And he unrolled his feathers
That rowed him softer home

Than oars divide the ocean,
Too silver for a seam,
Or butterflies, off banks of noon,
Leap, splashless, as they swim.