November 2017 --- Golden Shovels and Thankfulness

 

I recently came across an intriguing picture book written by Nikki Grimes called “The Watcher.” It is written in a poetic form known as the golden shovel. This form was created by Terrance Hayes who wrote his poem “The Golden Shovel” as a tribute to Gwendolyn Brooks’s “We Real Cool.” Grimes’s poem, a 2-voice dialogue about classroom bullying, was inspired by Psalm 121. You can learn more here: Nikki Grimes

 

Here’s how a golden shovel poem works:

·         Take a poem you admire (1 line, several, all)

·         Each word in the lines you’ve chosen becomes the end word in the lines of your poem.

·         The end words must be kept in order.

·         Be sure to credit the original poem and poet of your inspiration

·         Your new poem and it’s inspiration don’t have to be about the same subject

 

Always up for a challenge, I decided to try creating my own golden shovel poem. And since we are fast approaching Thanksgiving, I chose as my inspiration an old childhood prayer familiar to many. Enjoy.

 

SAYING THANK YOU

 

It shouldn’t be hard to Thank

All those who love you

To speak up and say thanks for

The very many ways that the

Love that they give makes this whole world

And your place in it so

Amazing, so sweet.

 

It shouldn’t be hard to Thank

Those who care for you

To speak up and say thanks for

The things they provide—not just the

Necessities like clothing and food

But all those extra things we

Want to wear or eat.

 

It shouldn’t be hard to Thank

Those who challenge you

Or to say thanks for

The pushes and the prodding, the

Call to fly higher than the birds

And do all the things that

Cause your heart to sing.

 

So why not pick now to Thank

Those who surround you

They’re your gift from God

Why not say “Thank you for

Everything!”