“Thanksgiving” by Wendy Mnookin

Thanksgiving of 2007 fell on the 22nd of November. In Lincoln, trace amounts of snow fell on that day; the high was 28°F and the low 12°F. Nebraska turkey growers raise about 4 million turkeys each year and in 2007 alone, those turkeys produced 65 million pounds of turkey meat. The Nebraska Huskers lost to the Colorado Buffaloes on their annual day-after-Thanksgiving rivalry game, and Wendy Mnookin’s “Thanksgiving” was published in the fall issue of Prairie Schooner. – Tory Clower

Wendy Mnookin
Thanksgiving

One glass of wine is good for you,

Mother says. And three are too many.
No one needs to leave the table crying.
Salt takes out the stain.

Or is it sugar?

The cat meows, 

plaintively, repetitively.
Come in. Go out. Outside

The boundaries are clear.

I listen hard to the hiss

of the sun’s longing,

red leaves etched

by that other brilliance, sky.