This contemplative poem invites us to reflect on the meaning of Thanksgiving
Learning Objective: Students will read closely to identify the theme of the poem and consider what important lesson the poet wants readers to know about Thanksgiving.
Giving Thanks
In memory of Chief Jake Swamp
Thanksgiving is more
than just one day,
so a Mohawk elder
said to me.
Though it is good
that we remember
this time with feasting
each November.
We need to give thanks
every dawn
for the gifts of life,
for each breath drawn.
For everything
that keeps us living,
we speak our words
of true thanksgiving.
Copyright © 2019 by Joseph Bruchac
This poem was originally published in the October/November 2025 issue.
1. Preparing to Read
Ask students what they think Thanksgiving is all about. Then direct their attention to the word thanks in Thanksgiving. Discuss why they think this word is in the name of the holiday.
Ask a volunteer to read the knowledge-building burst to the left of the poem.
Ask a different volunteer to read aloud the Up Close box at the top of the page.
2. Reading the Poem
A Note From Author and Storyteller Joseph Bruchac:
My poem is dedicated to the memory of Chief Jake Swamp, a Mohawk elder who was a good friend of mine. Jake was a traditional elder and a chief from the Mohawk reservation of Akwesasne. A deeply respected elder, he founded an organization called the Tree of Peace Society. He traveled all around the world telling stories of peace and planting pine trees. The white pine is a symbol of peace for the Haudenosaunee—the Iroquois nations—which include the Mohawk Nation that Jake belonged to.
Read the poem aloud, or play our Audio Read-Aloud with author Joseph Bruchac.
Go back to the question in the Up Close box and have students discuss their responses with a partner.
Discuss the poem as a class, using the questions that follow as prompts.
3. Discussing the Poem
Close-Reading Questions
1. Read Stanzas 1 and 2. What does the Mohawk elder want the poet to think about? (inference) The elder wants the poet to think about how Thanksgiving is often treated as a single day for feasting and encourages the poet to consider that the holiday has a deeper meaning.
2. Read Stanza 3. What does the poet mean when he says “We need to give thanks . . . for each breath drawn”? (figurative language) The word breath is often used as a symbol for life itself. When the poet says we should be grateful “for each breath drawn,” he means that we should be grateful for every moment of our lives.
3. Based on Stanza 4, what does the poet think Thanksgiving is really about? (theme) The true meaning of Thanksgiving is to show gratitude for everything that keeps us alive—such as air, water, food, and the land we live on. Thanksgiving can—and should—be celebrated like this every day.
4. What is the poet’s tone, or attitude, about Thanksgiving? (tone) Bruchac’s tone is thoughtful and understanding. We know because he says that it is OK to celebrate the holiday by feasting, but he also gently invites us to consider other ways to celebrate—by giving thanks for our lives and the natural world that supports us.
5. How does the artwork illustrate ideas from the poem? (text features) The poem describes a conversation between an elder and another person about what Thanksgiving is really about. Looking at the art, we can imagine the conversation about the true meaning of Thanksgiving happening between the older person and the child on the boat. The illustration shows various beautiful and important parts of nature, such as plants, water, animals, and sky. These are some of the “gifts of life” for which we should be grateful.
4. Make a Connection
Ask students to reflect on the last stanza of the poem and what—or who—it makes them think about:
For everything / that keeps us living, / we speak our words / of true thanksgiving.
Then have students write a journal entry, poem, or story that gives thanks to the people, things, and places they thought of after reading Bruchac’s poem.
