Jessamine Poems :: :: University of Virginia Library

Franklin, James Thomas (fl. 1890-1900)

Thanks-Giving.

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From the mountain's rocky summit,
From the distant arid plain,
Thanks-Giving comes a romping
Through heather mead and lane.

But with his very presence
America is aglow,
And hearts like brimming rivers
With joy do overflow.

And too the bird is singing,
Caroling as he flies,
While turkeys stand in waiting
To make a sacrifice.

In the tower leaps the church bell,
And music fills the air:
The echoes ring the chorus,
“This is a day of prayer.”

Then let this fair America,
From mountains to the sea,
Thank God that this asylum
Is the home of the free.

No wars are now a rageing,
No bloody banners stain
The fair name of America
On the heated battle plain.

No cannon balls are whistling
No startling bugle's blast,
Disturb us by repeating
The horrors of the past.

O God! how thou doth bless us
Bountifully from above!
And in return requestest
But a token of our love.

Ah! could we but realize
Thy peaceful blessings more,
Blot out the hideous spectre
Of fields of human gore!

For Peace has tossed her mantle back—
No more the years of pain—
And with her gentle hands has stooped
And covered up the slain.

And bids the nations now at rest
No more the wars release,
And whispers in the gentle breeze,
“Peace! Forever, peace!