It began with
*******

A powerful black man
And a hot babe
Making passionate love

It made me have a strong ******

I can't quite remember
What I had for breakfast

I ended up doing
Quite a few dishes this morning

I ran three miles
At the gym
And did some
Other exercises there

I left the gym at two
And pulled up to the house
Said goodbye to a house guest
Who had stayed for two days

Then I was off
Off for my Thanksgiving drive

And isn't it beautiful
Isn't it wonderful
To see Americans
Celebrating Thanksgiving

As I drive up one street
A family barbecues
On the front lawn
Smoke rising in the air

I drive through
My favorite mountain
Suburb

There are many walkers
Out this Thanksgiving afternoon

A man leaves
What I believe
Is his father's home

I see them part

I see a group of men
And women
Well dressed

Walking together

I play classical music
In my car
And play it loudly
So they can hear

I hope they think
"Why that is lovely"

Emotional I am
In my car

Not wanting to be
In my own home
On Thanksgiving

Having lived there
Since 1997
I've had all the family time
I could ever want

So it's good
It's wonderful
To be alone
On this Thanksgiving

I wonder what it would
Be like
To join these people
On their walk
Beneath the trees
In this beautiful neighborhood

I drive by and see
What I think is a father
Say goodbye to his son

I look at the father
On his front lawn
And he waves

Kind of him
To do so
I wave back

As if he might know
That I wish
I had friends
To spend
This day with

A man
Also stopped me
As he walked by
And asked for directions

I gave him directions
I asked him how he was
And wished him
A Happy Thanksgiving
He wished me
A Happy Thanksgiving as well

I don't know what "happy" is
And yet I say it
Like some line
From a hallmark greeting card
But my intention was good

I guess a happy Thanksgiving
For me would have been
To have a dinner
With some friends

Or to play croquet
Or another lawn game

Like the games I saw people
Playing on their front lawns
Underneath the beautiful trees
In this mountain suburban
American neighborhood

And as I drove
I saw people of different
Ethnicities

African American, Asian
And Caucasian

And they were enjoying the day
Living in peace

And I felt grateful to live here
In this country

And I thought to myself
I hope we are always
At peace like this

Because difficult
And trying times
Often come