On this Thanksgiving

On this Thanksgiving, raise your glass and toast you child or children who are now angels, be thankful for the ways in which they touched your lives and the memories and joy they left behind.. From our families to yours, we feel your heartache, but know that you are in our prayers and we hope you will find peace this Thanksgiving and joy in the memories of your child…Cherie Houston

FIRST THANKSGIVING

The thought of being thankful

fills my heart with dread.

They’ll all be feigning gladness,

not a word about her said.

These heavy shrouds of blackness

enveloping my soul,

pervasive, throat-catching,

writhe in me, and coil.

I must, I must acknowledge,

just express her name,

so all sitting at the table,

know I’m thankful that she came.

Though she’s gone from us forever

and we mourn to see her face,

not one minute of her living,

would her death ever replace.

So I stop the cheerful gathering,

though my voice quivers, quakes,

make a toast to all her living ~

That small tribute’s all it takes.

~ Genesse Bourdeau Gentry from

Stars in the Deepest – After the Death of a Child