Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Making New Year's Resolutions

beginnings


Making New Year's Resolutions

What part of yesterday
do I discard
to begin again?


With another chance
to begin again,
I'd re-sort the pieces
of my story
otherwise than they fell.

Call them
what they were not
then.

Turn them in my eye
to look out,
not in.

Hold them
to account for
reasons unexplained.

Feel them
as they held fast
let go.


What part of another year
do I need
to start anew?


To begin again

to take
another chance

Is chance enough
just to begin.

Copyright © 2009 Maureen E. Doallas. All Rights Reserved.

_____________________________

I wrote this poem in response to L.L. Barkat's call to join the "Beginnings" writing project by crafting a vignette about "beginnings" or a poem that uses at its beginning, middle, or end some word associated with the New Year. That word could be "resolve", "resolution", "dream", or something entirely of one's choosing. Contributions to or links to others' posts for the project are here.

I also submitted this poem to Carry On Tuesday's prompt to use some or all of the following words from Joanna Fuch's "New Year's Reality Check": "Another year, another chance / To start our lives anew;. . ." The complete poem by Fuchs is here.

11 comments:

Glynn said...

Resolutions are indeed a form of sorting and discarding. And it's the power of what's sorted or discarded that determines if the resolution will succeed. Like this, Maureen.

Anonymous said...

Very well said. I really like the outlook on resolutions that you've done here. Great use of the prompt.

A New Year's Resolution: Making It Last

Joyce Wycoff said...

Maureen ... this is lovely and what really grabbed me was: What part of yesterday
do I discard to begin again? What a powerful reminder that beginnings often require endings that make space for the new.

L.L. Barkat said...

Like Joyce, I loved this...

"What part of yesterday
do I discard
to begin again?"

keiths ramblings said...

Simply perfect. Like others before me I found your opening words quite thought provoking.

Stan Ski said...

We learn so much by our mistakes - we should hold on to the memory at least in order to continue learning.

Louise Gallagher said...

And once again, you have inspired me!

Thanks my friend.

Anonymous said...

Holy hell you won this prompt hands down! I may print it and frame it!

Anonymous said...

1.for the 8th time i will say you won this contest hands down. Fantastic
2. Adding a comment is almost impossible for me on your account so I have done this several times and I probably won't have the time to do it in the future. Sorry, I love your work, but you don't allow for anon comments and my wordpress acct doesn't work here. And everytime I re-enter it tells me I've done something else wrong....or it's working and not telling me which means you have me in triplicate

Anonymous said...

With another chance/ to begin again,/ I'd re-sort the pieces/ of my story/ otherwise than they fell.

Me too. But then I wonder, would my story be the story He desires to tell through me, if I could rewrite at will?

Anonymous said...

i have
noticed
things leaving
on their own
accord
and new things
appearing
in the same way
beginning
making
its own way