美国国家公共电台 NPR What About America Are You Thankful For? Tell Us

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

There's been a lot of division in our country as of late, with a lot of words thrown around that pull us apart. We wanted to spend a few minutes now thinking about how words do something different - how they bring us together. And to do that, our friend, poet and contributor Kwame Alexander joins me now in the studio with some words of unity¹. Good morning, my friend.

KWAME ALEXANDER: Good morning, Rachel.

MARTIN: Nice to see you.

ALEXANDER: You too.

MARTIN: So we know this, right? Words have long been used to divide people, but they can do the opposite. They can bring peace. They can bring solace². It is Thanksgiving time just in a few short weeks. And so it's worthwhile to spend some time thinking about how words can heal.

ALEXANDER: That's right, Rachel. I think sometimes in the midst of all the news and daily woes³, we forget about the wonder. We forget to be thankful for our loved ones, for our friends, for our jobs, for our country. I think the real beauty of our country is that we have the freedom to use our words to find our voices and lift them. And as you and I both know, the right words can offer us hope and healing, like in Claude McKay's patriotic⁴ poem "America," which acknowledges the woes along with the wonder.

MARTIN: OK. Read some for us.

ALEXANDER: Although she feeds me bread of bitterness and sinks into my throat her tiger's tooth, stealing my breath of life, I will confess I love this cultured hell that tests my youth. Her vigor⁵ flows like tides into my blood, giving me strength erect⁶ against her hate. Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood. Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state, I stand within her walls with not a shred⁷ of terror, malice⁸, not a word of jeer⁹. Darkly I gaze into the days ahead and see her might and granite¹⁰ wonders there beneath the touch of Time's unerring hand like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.

I think in this poem, McKay is showing us that he is critical while still having praise and being thankful all at the same time.

MARTIN: All right. So we have a challenge for our listeners - right? - about this, about being thankful as we approach Thanksgiving and specifically expressing what we're thankful for when it comes to America.

ALEXANDER: And there are no limits here. You can be free with it, any style that helps communicate your thankfulness. I mean, it could even be a list of things.

MARTIN: A list of things. What do you mean?

ALEXANDER: Like, a list poem.

MARTIN: A list poem. OK.

ALEXANDER: Yeah. Like, for instance...

MARTIN: Say more.

ALEXANDER: If I were to ask you what about this beautiful country are you thankful for, Rachel - and I'll prompt you...

MARTIN: OK.

ALEXANDER: Because America...

MARTIN: ...Is complicated.

ALEXANDER: Because America...

MARTIN: ...Is open.

ALEXANDER: And just like that, we can create this list of things that...

MARTIN: OK.

ALEXANDER: ...Really resonate with that thankfulness.

MARTIN: Yeah, I get it. OK. We want to hear your entries. We want to hear your America thankful poems. So send us those. You can send your entries to npr.org/morningpoem. And before we let you go, Kwame, you bought - you brought a friend with you today, a musician who's worked with you for a long time.

ALEXANDER: Yes. I mean, to inspire us in writing our thankfulness, I brought along my man, Randy Preston, with a song you may be familiar with.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL")

RANDY PRESTON: (Singing) O beautiful for spacious¹¹ skies, for amber¹² waves of grain...