Two Poems for a New Year
Whatever you collected during the past year can be tossed and lost or kept lovingly within your heart. A time for change is granted to us at least once a year if not more often in the coming months.
Photo by Jeff Cauhape
Resolution Â
New Year's Sunday morning
finds me in church
the Bishopric banked against the wall
dying embers whose light casts
dimly across the room.
A small boy approaches the podium
carefully unfolds a paper
presses it with damp palms
across the holy books encased there
as I did years ago when I delivered
my first 2-1/2 minute talk.
Every word memorized
my hands sweated into words
written by my teacher.
The boy drones, stiff, scared
the elders sit behind him
passive
their countenances tired.
My thoughts drift to the previous night
snowflakes catch on noses
eyebrows shoulders arms
hands clasp in a circle
a dozen gay men and one woman
singing Hava Nagileh
dancing
in the middle of First Avenue
at the touch of midnight.
The speaker's voice nuzzles
me back to the present.
It's time for a change.
Purging
New year
new life
lots of things to throw away
books dusted, sorted,
a decision for each memory
to throw away or keep
a judgment day each year
to remember why I am here
to rid myself of tagalong must-do‘s
that no longer will do
remember a destiny uncovered
from years of neglect
mistrust
disrepect
and distractions
remember what I alone can give
and ignore those voices in my head
that lovingly mislead
or blatantly tread on my path
without my copy of the map
my voice doesn’t rattle around
in their heads
of this I am sure.
Why allow them inside of mine?
New year, new light, new life.
If you enjoyed these poems, feel free to explore other poems, stories, and essays (and maybe more slideshows) in the Ring Around the Basin Archives.
Such thought-provoking words, Sue, and Jeff's picture is perfect. Thank you.