Thanksgiving-day, I fear, If one the solemn truth must touch, Is celebrated, not so much To thank the Lord for blessing o'er, As for the sake of getting more!

Carleton’s stanza is a wry moral critique of Thanksgiving as it was (and is) popularly practiced. The speaker “fears” that, if one admits an uncomfortable truth, the holiday often becomes less an act of gratitude for blessings already received than a socially sanctioned occasion for appetite, acquisition, and expectation—“for the sake of getting more.” The rhyme and sing-song cadence sharpen the satire: the poem sounds like a light seasonal verse while delivering a pointed rebuke of materialism and self-interest. In effect, Carleton contrasts genuine thanksgiving (humility, acknowledgment of providence) with a consumerist or acquisitive spirit that turns gratitude into another form of wanting.