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

 

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...

1 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

2 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

3 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

4 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

5 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

6 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

7 shred   

v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少

参考例句：

• There is not a shred of truth in what he says.他说的全是骗人的鬼话。
• The food processor can shred all kinds of vegetables.这架食品加工机可将各种蔬菜切丝切条。

8 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

9 jeer   

vi.嘲弄，揶揄；vt.奚落；n.嘲笑，讥评

参考例句：

• Do not jeer at the mistakes or misfortunes of others.不要嘲笑别人的错误或不幸。
• The children liked to jeer at the awkward students.孩子们喜欢嘲笑笨拙的学生。

10 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

11 spacious   

adj.广阔的，宽敞的

参考例句：

• Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞，足够建一座游泳池。
• The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。

12 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。