Macy's 99th Thanksgiving Day Parade
by Michael Doyle

A slight smile replaces my poker face
As I rush with everyone to find my place.
This beautiful parade of yours and mine
Comes just like an early Valentine.

A little special love shines our way,
Brought to us from Macy's on Thanksgiving Day.
Balloons are the only inflation that we love
As we watch the characters float above. 

They say this is the 99th anniversary.
This excitement doesn't need unnecessary controversy.
In my life, from boy to man,
I might qualify as some kind of super fan.

From Felix the Cat to places to explore,
There's always room for at least one more.
Starting from zoos around for the Christmas Season,
If you need to smile, Macy's has its reasons.

As the Cuban band plays out its second chances,
Romance in this city gives cause to dance.
Infectious in rhythm, we hear the glory,
Lost in love with its musical stories. 

Watching Radio City Rockettes kick it out,
This joy from New York City removed all doubt.
Elves make snow angels in powders of gran flour.
It feels like 60 magical moments in every hour.

Ragtime memories whisper of veneration
In Broadway memories of those generations.
I watch, still filled with childlike bliss
Filling each moment with an absurdity of happiness.

The commercials end in time for Mack the Knife
As we look back on yesterday's slice of life.
Dancing shoes are needed on this street.
No one can stop the feeling of our dancing feet

Tom Turkey strutted across Herald Square
As big brothers and sisters take the dare,
Just in time for another marching band
To meet this season's flow and demand.

The best of life's stories began here
With our laughter replacing any fear.
With a world to explore, a circus is made
The passion flows across free and unafraid.

Even Elmo is tickled by the pumpkin pie.
No one on Sesame Street wonders why.
It's a sunny but freezing kind of day.
I suppose that's fitting for Thanksgiving's way.

Another supposition is that it fits the festivity
That Macy's focused on the fine art of inclusivity.
The Green Giant reminded us all of what's good,
And with a wink and a nudge, it became understood.

This year, I am without my beautiful daughters,
And reminded of what it is to be a divorced father.
There is a little light refusing to go out inside of me.
It's their love that always shines so brightly.

Of course, Disney was along for the ride,
The biggest thing missing was patriotic pride.
Still, the story told is of American culture
With plenty of good things that we love to nurture.

Art and the canvas are worked within the design.
One float at a time, and its just fine.
Quietly, I slowly turned off my phone
And continued to enjoy my unmanaged time alone.

Kool and the Gang reminded us it's a celebration
As Thanksgiving was spread across the nation.
Soon the turkey will be a stuck fork called done,
And soon after that, I'll be the stuffed one.

Smokey the Bear was on parade against forest fires
And Snoopy's legacy still fills us with childlike desire.
There's probably nothing more American than this parade.
It's made up of ingenuity and our dreams made.

This living work of art spirals with a familiarity
That for 99 years has been right for the family.
Block by block, this is a clockwork memory.
I'd watch it forever quite happily.

Thank goodness so few others would change these ways.
Not here. Nor there. This is part of Thanksgiving Day.
Stranger things happen but they should not.
This is a day of love that should never be forgot.

I am thankful for all that I hear and see.
So I say thank you the network, NBC.
They bring his parade to you and me, 
And all my life this has helped keep me happy.

In the end, sheep carry us to sleep.
This parade is about to get Santa deep.
Returning full circle to Christmas dreams,
It turns out that Santa is as real as he seems.

Sometimes, I love these ivory towers.
They pack so much magic into these past hours.
All this beautiful song and magical dance
Brings warmth, giving Thanksgiving and Christmas their chance.

(c) November 27, 2025   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved