Once again, at this time in the month of November

In the mood of Thanksgiving I stop and remember

To offer my thanks for the good things in life 

Like my health and my freedom, my cat and my wife

I’m thankful of course for the freedom to marry

Which we won back in June — by one vote (kinda scary)

The judges supreme made it clear, five to four

That we can’t deny people this right anymore

There’s still some resistance, just look at Kim Davis

The Kentucky odd bird, aka rara avis

Who’s refusal to license a marriage between

Two men or two women is out-and-out mean

Then candidate Huckabee followed by Cruz

Used Davis’s story to get in the news

A hero, a martyr, a victim, they said

Of the woman who four times, herself, has been wed

But she’ll get her due, which is my fervent hope

For her fraudulent claim of support from the pope

Pope Francis responded that The Holy See

Decidedly doesn’t endorse bigotry

And that is a message, I’m thankful to note

That’s likely to influence folks when they vote

The tables are turning, the tides are all shifting

Our notions of queerness are much more uplifting

The work’s not complete, we have much more to do

Before everyone’s equal and free, that is true

But little by little we’re making our way 

And for each inch of progress I’m saying Hooray!

I’m making a point to be much more aware

Of all of the good stuff and not to despair

It’s easy to slip into worry and stress

Because plenty of things in the world are a mess

But keeping up hope with our eyes on the prize

Is much more effective than some realize

I’m thankful, therefore, that there’re things I can do

To make peace, love and freedom ideals come true

It wouldn’t take long, a few minutes or so

To write to my senators letting them know

That queer and transgender folks lacking protection

Will be on my mind when they face reelection

And I can sign up, give some bucks, be involved

In organized efforts to get problems solved

Global and national, statewide and local

There are so many groups who are active and vocal

I also have options of what I support 

With the money I spend, I can read a report

On Huffington Post on who isn’t or is

A company known as a queer-friendly biz

I mean it, I’m thankful, there’s lots of potential

Of ways I can make myself more influential

If something is good I can work to defend it

If something is wrong I’ll be working to end it

I’m thankful for having this space and this ink

To encourage my readers to act and to think

Don’t worry if you don’t know just where to start

Begin with some gratitude deep in your heart

Say thanks for what’s good and be joyful in life

Don’t spend all your juju obsessing on strife

Then you can join me as I sit and remember

The stuff to be thankful for every November