Write Your Own Praise Song

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, this is a great time to reflect on the things you are thankful for and honor them in a "song." Here are some guidelines:

1. Choose 5-10 things that you are thankful for this year.

2. Now, write a poem or “song” to “honor” these things on Thanksgiving.

3. Set up each stanza of your poem using the following structure. Each stanza will have 6 lines, and your poem should have between 5-10 stanzas—one for each thing you are thankful for.

Line 1. Praise my mom who works her fingers to the bone___________________ (Write what you are praising)

Line 2. Who loves me unconditionally (Describe what you are praising)

Line 3. Who/That (is) is the best cook ever ____________________ (Describe what you are praising)

Line 4. Who/That (is) ____________________ (Describe what you are praising)

Line 5. Praise the little girl ____________________ (Repeat what you are praising in a new way)

Line 6. He/She/It is ____________________ (Summarize what it means to you)

4. In the first line of the stanza you will write what you are thankful for. In the following three lines you will describe that person, place, thing, or idea. Then, in the fourth line you will repeat what you are praising. Finally, in the fifth line you will summarize what they (or it) mean to you.

5. Use similes, metaphors, and descriptive language to describe each thing that you are thankful for. You can also describe what the object does, or says to make you appreciate it so much.

6. One idea for your praise song is to write one stanza for each person in your family. You can read this poem to them for Thanksgiving, showing them how much you appreciate everything they do for you.

Examples using people, places, and animals.

Praise the little girl who uncovered beauty and hope in our lives
Who amazes us with her youth, her grace
Whose pureness overflows and ties a knot in our hearts
Who has wings that we do not see
Praise Natalie
She is an angel in disguise.

Praise the enchanting city of Venice, Italy
Where the sun ignites your heart and warms your bones
Where mystical waters flood the streets with each full moon
Where young couples mingle effortlessly on the cobblestone
Praise Venice
It is my heaven on earth.

Praise Shiner
Who taught us how to love unconditionally
Who helped to make a house a home
Who still needs us when we are tired or sad
Praise Shiner
He is our protector.

Praise Song by Barbara Crooker
My Praise Song in November
 

Praise Song

I read this poem a few years ago for my Journal Therapy class and was very inspired.

Praise Song

Praise the light of late November,
the thin sunlight that goes deep in the bones.
Praise the crows chattering in the oak trees;
though they are clothed in night, they do not
despair. Praise what little there's left:
the small boats of milkweed pods, husks, hulls,
shells, the architecture of trees. Praise the meadow
of dried weeds: yarrow, goldenrod, chicory,
the remains of summer. Praise the blue sky
that hasn't cracked yet. Praise the sun slipping down
behind the beechnuts, praise the quilt of leaves
that covers the grass: Scarlet Oak, Sweet Gum,
Sugar Maple. Though darkness gathers, praise our crazy
fallen world; it's all we have, and it's never enough.

- Barbara Crooker

I was pushed by the last line to think that if this "crazy fallen world" is never enough, then what is?

Write your own praise song
My Praise Song in November

My Praise Song in November

I wrote this poem a few Thanksgivings ago after reading "Praise Song" by Barbara Crooker.

“…praise our crazy/fallen world; it’s all we have, and it’s never enough."

-Barbara Crooker

Praise the husband who is my home

Who says I’m amazing, when I think I’m awful
Who is my best friend, my sanity, my safe haven
Who is meant to complete me

He is enough

Praise the sister whose compassionate heart longs to help someone, despite her own pain
Who makes me want more
Whose innocence burns into us
Whose soul is magnetic

She is enough

Praise the brother whose presence carries us unknowingly
Who calms the thunder around him
Who is quiet yet reverent
Whose blood is my blood

He is enough

Praise the little girl who uncovered beauty and hope in our lives
Who amazes us with her youth, her grace
Whose pureness overflows and ties a knot in our hearts
Who has wings that we do not see

She is enough

Praise the father who has offered everything to be our backbone
Who gives us his word when he can’t give us the world
Who protects his family, encircling them with his heavy hold
Whose childlike spirit can’t be hidden by rough hands or tired eyes

He is enough

Praise the mother who calls her children “her one and only masterpiece”
Who bears my burden
Whose talent will be known
Whose strength is still needed

She is enough

Praise the moment that we realize
This is all that we have and
It is all enough.

Write your own praise song