Let Us Give Thanks: Garden-themed Thanksgiving Prayer by Rev. Max Coots

EDITOR’S NOTE: We’ve shared this garden-themed poem before, and it was brought to mind again when I received an inquiry from the Hampton (NY) Gardener, inquiring about re-publishing the poem. The garden reporter shared that his Google search had produced the Pioneer’s verions of the poem, and he just loved it! Did I know the source? My source was a fellow Rotarian in 2011 … again, Google provided the answer – and the poem comes full circle, as it was originally penned by Reverend Max Coots in New York. See the link below from The Hampton Gardener. And here’s the delightful poem once again:

For children who are our second planting, and, though they grow like weeds and the wind
too soon carries them away, may they forgive us our errors in cultivation and celebrate their roots.
Let us give thanks…

For generous friends, with hearts and smiles as bright as their blossoms;
For feisty friends as tart as apples;
For continuous friends, who, like scallions and cucumbers, keep reminding us that we’ve had them;
For crotchety friends, as sour as rhubarb and as indestructible;
For handsome friends, who are as gorgeous as eggplants and as elegant as a row of corn, and
the others, as plain as potatoes and so good for us;
For funny friends, who are odd as brussels sprouts and as amusing as artichokes, and serious
friends, as complex as cauliflower and as intricate as onions;
For friends as unpretentious as cabbages, as subtle as summer squash, as persistent as parsley,
as delightful as dill, as endless as zucchini, and who, like parsnips, can be counted on
to see us through the winter;
For friendships that are hard won, like nuts that are hard to crack;
For the potential of every person, who, like grapes can become fine wine;
For old friends, nodding like sunflowers in the evening-time and young friends coming on as fast as radishes;
For loving friends, who wind around us like tendrils and hold us, despite our blights, wilts and witherings;
And, finally, for those friends now gone, like gardens past, that have been harvested, but
who fed us in their times that we might have life hereafter;
For all these we give thanks. Amen.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!