美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Thank You, America': A Crowdsourced Holiday Poem That's A Blessing To Read

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

A few weeks ago, we asked you to share with us what it is about America that you're most thankful for. And you did share. We received over a thousand responses, all very thoughtful, wholehearted, earnest. We gave your responses to our friend Kwame Alexander, who is a pro¹ at stitching together community poems. And he is in the studio with me. Hi, Kwame. Happy Thanksgiving.

KWAME ALEXANDER: Hello, my friend. I'm excited to be here (laughter).

MARTIN: All right. So you had to sort through all these submissions². What stood out to you?

ALEXANDER: I mean, the number of people who talked about libraries.

MARTIN: Really?

ALEXANDER: Yeah, and how they give public opportunities to improve our lives. It was amazing. Jody L. O. of Duluth, Minn., wrote, I am grateful for libraries, those sacred places to share knowledge and creativity. Jeff Milo (ph) of Ferndale, Mich., he called them 21st-century community centers, where people can do so much to improve their lives, like meet with collaborators or learn a new skill.

MARTIN: I love it. I love that libraries are making a comeback.

ALEXANDER: People love them.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

ALEXANDER: I mean, it was like the poets came out of the woodwork for this challenge, which really made it difficult to choose which lines from which poems to include because honestly, they all could stand on their own.

MARTIN: All right, so let's get a sense of that. And you've got one you're going to read from Rosemary Bogan (ph). Is that right?

ALEXANDER: Yes. She's from Helena, Ala. - because America is wide and vast, beautiful and messy, kind and harsh, limitless and barren, diverse and stuck, free and foiled, whole and broken, light and dark. I give thanks.

MARTIN: Wow. Rosemary, well done.

ALEXANDER: Yeah.

MARTIN: So we want to give a special shout-out to teachers because I mean, so many teachers wrote in with responses. And we even had some teachers who got their entire class to write gratitude³ poems, right?

ALEXANDER: Right, like Ms. Goerke of Louisville, Ky. Teachers rock.

MARTIN: Go, Ms. Goerke. So let's move on to the main event. You took all of these individual entries. And as you do, you made a beautiful, holistic⁴ thing - a beautiful poem from all of them. So we're going to read this together.

ALEXANDER: We are.

MARTIN: OK. Let's do this. And a reminder⁵ - these are your thoughts on what it is about America that you're most thankful for. All right. Let's read it. The sun rising behind farmhouses⁶ in the Midwest, the clear mountain rivers in Montana. I hope we have the wisdom to treasure all of it.

ALEXANDER: A glimmer⁷ of dawn, first flickers⁸ in Maine.

MARTIN: For the mountains - magnificent, weathered beacons⁹ of topographical wonder.

ALEXANDER: Tengo gracias that I can speak my mind y no aye consecuencia graves when I do so.

MARTIN: I won't lie. I struggled with this question. With all the fighting, hate and violence, it's been difficult to remember to be thankful. However, when I read stories of people who stand up and speak out for justice and truth, I become immensely grateful and proud of America.

ALEXANDER: Freedom to whisper against kings - my grandmother, who carried her green card in the broken tattoos¹⁰ on her back. I am thankful that other people are still trying to come here. I am thankful for the vastness of our borders and the beauty of our natural lands.

MARTIN: Sunshine streaming softly while we sip¹¹ our morning coffee - but across the oceans, our troops fight, ensuring that we keep our rights to give us a land of the free - for the first responders, for hope.

ALEXANDER: I am thankful for America's history, warts¹² and all, our past full of light and dark. Read the history of heroes and villains¹³. See our country for what it is.

MARTIN: Free press and free speech to speak out against injustices¹⁴ in our country.

ALEXANDER: For family, for places to walk safely, places to paddle, arcades¹⁵ of trees, varied¹⁶, inexpensive food, tools and workplaces, longtime friends who listen, tennis courts.

MARTIN: Indoor plumbing¹⁷.

ALEXANDER: To worship whoever we want, to say whatever we want, to go wherever we want.

MARTIN: For the public libraries - they raise up voices whom others attempt to silence.

ALEXANDER: For diversity, for differences - my son is transgender, and I'm grateful for those who treat her with respect and kindness.

MARTIN: For Cape¹⁸ May, for parties on the Fourth of July, for anarchist¹⁹ coffee shops, for church-run thrift²⁰ stores, hole-in-the-wall barbecue joints²¹, Lake Michigan, Vinny's Pizzeria in the '90s, beer delivery in a snowstorm.

ALEXANDER: For second, third and fourth chances for forgiveness.

MARTIN: I am thankful that my hybrid²² existence, hinted by my brown skin and slanted²³ eyes, can make sense in America.

ALEXANDER: For many spectacular parks in our nation - from the huge and awe-inspiring Grand Canyon²⁴ to the tiny, neighborhood park with the small playground and the pretty benches painted by local artists.

MARTIN: I am grateful that America can change, too - for the millions who take to the streets, challenge authority, insist on change, demand justice, resist evil, tell their stories.

ALEXANDER: Wrought²⁵ through division, sustained by freedom's hope, seeking reunion - I am thankful for America most of the time.

MARTIN: America lets me connect and play videos with the world. America allows me to play basketball. America gives me a good education.

ALEXANDER: Thank you, America, for the mom and pop shops and rest stops, for the back roads and the beaten paths, for the love that greets me when I come home, for the dream to become; the dream to make better or different, the dream to inspire, the dream of something on the other side of whatever is facing us in the moment - for you.

MARTIN: Wow. That was awesome²⁶.

ALEXANDER: It's pretty stunning²⁷, right?

MARTIN: It's pretty stunning.

ALEXANDER: We did it.

MARTIN: We did it. Everyone out there did it. Thank you so much to all of you for contributing to this poem. It was a broader community effort. And thanks, Kwame, for making it what it was. We appreciate you.

ALEXANDER: Hey, I don't know about you, Rachel, but I'm about to get stuffed.

MARTIN: Yeah, it's that time. Isn't it?

ALEXANDER: (Laughter).

MARTIN: Kwame Alexander, New York Times best selling author of "Swing." It's a novel about baseball, jazz and social justice. Happy Thanksgiving, my friend.

ALEXANDER: Same to you, Rachel.

1 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

2 submissions   

n.提交( submission的名词复数 )；屈从；归顺；向法官或陪审团提出的意见或论据

参考例句：

• The deadline for submissions to the competition will be Easter 1994. 递交参赛申请的截止时间为1994年的复活节。 来自辞典例句
• Section 556(d) allows the agency to substitute written submissions for oral direct testimony in rulemaking. 第五百五十六条第（四）款准允行政机关在规则制定中用书面提交材料替代口头的直接证言。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

3 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

4 holistic   

adj.从整体着眼的，全面的

参考例句：

• There is a fundamental ambiguity in the use of word "whole" in recent holistic literature.在近代的整体主义著作中，“整体”这个词的用法极其含混。
• In so far as historicism is technological,its approach is not piecemeal,but "holistic".仅就历史决定论是一种技术而论，它的方法不是渐进的，而是“整体主义的”。

5 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

6 farmhouses   

n.农舍，农场的主要住房( farmhouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Then perhaps she is staying at one of cottages or farmhouses? 那么也许她现在住在某个农舍或哪个农场的房子里吧？ 来自辞典例句
• The countryside was sprinkled with farmhouses. 乡间到处可见农家的房舍。 来自辞典例句

7 glimmer   

v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光

参考例句：

• I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注视她，感到了一线希望。
• A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一丝笑意。

8 flickers   

电影制片业； （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fire flickers low. 炉火颤动欲灭。
• A strange idea flickers in my mind. 一种奇怪的思想又在我脑中燃烧了。

9 beacons   

灯塔( beacon的名词复数 )； 烽火； 指路明灯； 无线电台或发射台

参考例句：

• A chain of beacons was lit across the region. 整个地区点起了一系列灯塔。
• Lighthouse and beacons flash at night. 晚上灯塔与信号台闪着光。

10 tattoos   

n.文身( tattoo的名词复数 )；归营鼓；军队夜间表演操；连续有节奏的敲击声v.刺青，文身( tattoo的第三人称单数 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的胳膊上刺满了花纹。
• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的双臂刺满了纹身。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

12 warts   

n.疣( wart的名词复数 )；肉赘；树瘤；缺点

参考例句：

• You agreed to marry me, warts and all! 是你同意和我结婚的，我又没掩饰缺陷。 来自辞典例句
• Talk about trying to cure warts with spunk-water such a blame fool way as that! 用那样糊涂蛋的方法还谈什么仙水治疣子！ 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

13 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。

15 arcades   

n.商场( arcade的名词复数 )；拱形走道（两旁有商店或娱乐设施）；连拱廊；拱形建筑物

参考例句：

• Clothes are on sale in several shopping arcades these days. 近日一些服装店的服装正在大减价。 来自轻松英语会话---联想4000词(下)
• The Plaza Mayor, with its galleries and arcades, is particularly impressive. 市长大厦以其别具风格的走廊和拱廊给人留下十分深刻的印象。 来自互联网

16 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

17 plumbing   

n.水管装置；水暖工的工作；管道工程v.用铅锤测量（plumb的现在分词）；探究

参考例句：

• She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche. 她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。
• They're going to have to put in new plumbing. 他们将需要安装新的水管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

19 anarchist   

n.无政府主义者

参考例句：

• You must be an anarchist at heart.你在心底肯定是个无政府主义者。
• I did my best to comfort them and assure them I was not an anarchist.我尽量安抚他们并让它们明白我并不是一个无政府主义者。

20 thrift   

adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约

参考例句：

• He has the virtues of thrift and hard work.他具备节俭和勤奋的美德。
• His thrift and industry speak well for his future.他的节俭和勤勉预示着他美好的未来。

21 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

22 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

23 slanted   

有偏见的； 倾斜的

参考例句：

• The sun slanted through the window. 太阳斜照进窗户。
• She had slanted brown eyes. 她有一双棕色的丹凤眼。

24 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

25 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

26 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

27 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。