My year began with water
gentle mists soaking green tufts of moss
rising streams taunt but never threaten
clouds who say because I can
birthing small agnostic rainbows
My year got better with a visit
from the fat squirrel couple
still pretending that they’re dating
she still laughs at all his jokes
Had I read the news
it might’ve caused a dismal start
so I set aside the papers
longed for news inspired by dreams
We’re asked to pause this day
feel the pull of our reflections
not the kind that killed Narcissus
but the kind that give us hope
Could this be the one day
when I cast away chimera?
Start the year by understanding
I’ve more power than I know
Showing posts with label new years. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new years. Show all posts
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Friday, December 31, 2010
Twenty-Ten
This was the year that started outside of Vegas. It’s not as glam as it sounds. I like to hike in the desert.
This was the year I started to build a walkway out of individual stones then quit halfway and questioned the direction it was going. I’ll continue building it someday. I still have a sense of direction and still have the stones to finish what I started.
Some of our modern machines died this past year and needed to be replaced but in the rush of daily life I was too busy to see the metaphor. Most days I’ll take clean clothes over epiphanies.
I finally got the chance to visit the castles where my long-lost ancestors learned masonry, chivalry and fighting. It’s a learned thing, listening to stone.
This was the year that the tomatoes did poorly. The roses, empathetic, didn’t do much better.
This was the first year that I wrote every day, built a blog and some stronger writing habits. It’s fun seeing your name in print next to others who are pretty good.
I got to spend two days with Kay Ryan and listened carefully to everything she said. Here’s a summary: speak with your own voice or not at all.
I picked up the banjo then put it down and wondered what the hell was I thinking.
My prayers resumed then stopped then started again. It’s a fine thing the teacher isn’t grading for punctuation.
I couldn’t stop marching, for religious tolerance, for GLBT rights, for battered families, and in the footsteps of St. Patrick. Still no shortage of snakes in this world but they seem to be getting better at evasion.
This was the year I caught glimpses of the man my son is becoming and they almost always filled me with joy.
With every passing year I’ve learned of more passings and reminders of stories that don’t get told until we’re gone. I felt the triumph of someone who got a second chance and her stories are just starting to form.
You might have caught my self-absorbed tone over the solstice. Only catharsis, maybe caused by the dark days and rapidly rising river. But the days are already getting longer, we’re survived floods before and I live on higher ground than I used to.
La vita e bella - life is good. I’ll see you in 2011.
~ J. D. M.
This was the year I started to build a walkway out of individual stones then quit halfway and questioned the direction it was going. I’ll continue building it someday. I still have a sense of direction and still have the stones to finish what I started.
Some of our modern machines died this past year and needed to be replaced but in the rush of daily life I was too busy to see the metaphor. Most days I’ll take clean clothes over epiphanies.
I finally got the chance to visit the castles where my long-lost ancestors learned masonry, chivalry and fighting. It’s a learned thing, listening to stone.
This was the year that the tomatoes did poorly. The roses, empathetic, didn’t do much better.
This was the first year that I wrote every day, built a blog and some stronger writing habits. It’s fun seeing your name in print next to others who are pretty good.
I got to spend two days with Kay Ryan and listened carefully to everything she said. Here’s a summary: speak with your own voice or not at all.
I picked up the banjo then put it down and wondered what the hell was I thinking.
My prayers resumed then stopped then started again. It’s a fine thing the teacher isn’t grading for punctuation.
I couldn’t stop marching, for religious tolerance, for GLBT rights, for battered families, and in the footsteps of St. Patrick. Still no shortage of snakes in this world but they seem to be getting better at evasion.
This was the year I caught glimpses of the man my son is becoming and they almost always filled me with joy.
With every passing year I’ve learned of more passings and reminders of stories that don’t get told until we’re gone. I felt the triumph of someone who got a second chance and her stories are just starting to form.
You might have caught my self-absorbed tone over the solstice. Only catharsis, maybe caused by the dark days and rapidly rising river. But the days are already getting longer, we’re survived floods before and I live on higher ground than I used to.
La vita e bella - life is good. I’ll see you in 2011.
~ J. D. M.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Adieu, December
Are we finished yet? Seriously, I can't be happier that this year and this month are coming to a well-deserved end. Too many highlights to count (people, places and a Pushcart nomination) and a few speed bumps (correction: collisions) to remind us we're mortal (seriously, we already knew and didn't need any reminders). The only thing left to do is bid adieu and move forward. Read on...
Even in a good year this is an insane month
cursed by short days
tall expectations
and scenic views of redemption
First was the hate crime that lit up cable news
followed by marches and vigils
long talks about recovery
the grueling work of social justice
Then reminders of how shopping postponed is shopping hell
once behind you can never catch up
still I clung to my double standard
I reserve the right to play Santa for others
as for me, to quote Elmo:
all I want for Christmas is you
Just before we donned our almost gay apparel
there were no twelve days of Christmas
for us lapsed pagans
Only one long day in the ER
five more in acute care
six more in a tenaciously joyful rehab center
Christmas dinner on paper plates
and the greatest gift ever
hope
I’ve never known a December like this
and wish to never see one like it
As much as I’ve enjoyed the joys of 2010
there is no hesitation in bidding adieu, December
until we meet again
Even in a good year this is an insane month
cursed by short days
tall expectations
and scenic views of redemption
First was the hate crime that lit up cable news
followed by marches and vigils
long talks about recovery
the grueling work of social justice
Then reminders of how shopping postponed is shopping hell
once behind you can never catch up
still I clung to my double standard
I reserve the right to play Santa for others
as for me, to quote Elmo:
all I want for Christmas is you
Just before we donned our almost gay apparel
there were no twelve days of Christmas
for us lapsed pagans
Only one long day in the ER
five more in acute care
six more in a tenaciously joyful rehab center
Christmas dinner on paper plates
and the greatest gift ever
hope
I’ve never known a December like this
and wish to never see one like it
As much as I’ve enjoyed the joys of 2010
there is no hesitation in bidding adieu, December
until we meet again
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