Thanksgiving Poem: Tim the Magic Turkey

I had caught a turkey, quite plump and round,
The largest bird that I had ever found.
Now he was in a cage, and his dark fate
Was to be killed and served on a large plate.
Thanksgiving was near, and I could not wait
To cook this bird for such a special date.
It would be quite a meal fit for a king,
And thus a memorable Thanksgiving.

I grabbed my ax, preparing for the kill,
Though this act tends to be against my will.
However, this murder had to be done,
Or there would be no bird for anyone.
I crept toward the cage, and I saw the bird
Shaking in fear, and then without a word,
I prepared to strike, his head I would chop,
But then that large turkey cried out, "Please stop!"

I froze with amazement...had I just heard
Those words coming from the mouth of that bird?
Turkeys could not talk, but this one just did.
I tell you all the truth, I do not kid.
In astonishment, I lowered my ax,
Because I wanted to know all the facts
Of why this turkey was able to speak
And not just shout gobbles sounds with his beak.

"How is it that you can talk?" I asked him.
His reply was, "I am a bird named Tim.
I am a magic turkey, I speak true,
Though it must be quite a big shock to you.
On the third Thursday of November, I
Gain the ability to speak, no lie.
For one week I can talk and convince good
And bad folks that I should not become food."

"Why did you not tell me about your voice
When I captured you? You did have a choice
Of escaping when you had the big chance."
Tim looked at me with a worrying glance.
"I had a cold, and my throat was quite sore.
I feared it would hurt to talk anymore.
As such, I feared that my fate had been sealed
Unless my throat would somehow become healed."

"It must be better now since you can talk,"
I said to Tim, who replied with a squawk.
"Yes, by some miracle my throat is well,
And my voice is clear as that of a bell.
Thus I can now ask you to please spare me,
And eat something else besides a turkey.
If you do this, I'll give you something good,
And I can be free from becoming food."

I felt sorry for Tim, so I agreed,
That he would immediately be freed
And not be served on a plate for dinner.
That way, everyone would be a winner.
I opened the cage door and I let him out
So that he could be free and roam about
Without the worry of becoming food.
That day I knew I had done something good.

For Thanksgiving, we did not eat turkey.
Instead, we had ham, which was quite juicy.
After that, from the door came a loud knock,
I ran toward it, opening the lock,
And to my pleasure, standing there was Tim,
As big and proud as when I last saw him.
He looked very happy, and so was I,
To see that he decided to stop by.

"You have saved me from becoming your meal,
So I have come to carry out my deal.
I shall make you the wife of someone rich
And well-mannered, someone who will not ditch
Or upset you. Someone as kind as you,
So your life will be happy and not blue.
All this is because you know what it means
To be kind on this and all Thanksgivings."

Indeed, Thanksgiving's meaning rang quite true
That year, and thus I would never be blue
Because my husband would treat me as well
As I treated Tim, and so I shall tell
All of you to be thankful all year long,
Because if you do so, you can't go wrong,
And every little good thing that you do,
Is sure to bring good things right back to you.