Monday 12 December 2016

Nah...thanks, nothing that can be broken



I’m not committing to a thing
that can be broken, chipped, or marred.
The year can take me anywhere -
unending oceans, city squares
cut up neat between their boulevards,
edges soft with leafsilk lining.


I’ll not be making resolutions -
anything that’s hard to keep.
I’ll be easy in my shoes and skin.
The year is free to take me in
or throw me out, and I’ll sleep
on its pebbled grounds, or oceans.


I’m not running so panic stricken,
wringing hands, trembling with fright.
The path’s a thin thread but I’m on it
and everywhere I stop to sit
there’s birdsong and bread. Some trick of light
makes it a destination.



I have to admit I am not a very systematic person, especially where things like goals and resolutions are concerned.  One year (and I can't even remember which, so deep in my past this is buried) I came up with some vague phrases - try something new, be more mindful, work on patience, STOP panicking! and called them my resolutions and they looked good even after the year was over, and so I never bothered to make any fresh ones. They have served me perfectly well for as long as I have had them.   

Last year try something new translated to a new recipe every month - looking back it feels way more energetic than I thought I could ever feel!  This year has whooshed past before I consciously got to grips with what new stuff I could try even. But I have ended up doing a bunch of things for the first time in default willing-spirit, woolly-brain, weak-flesh mode anyways, so I guess it's okay, I'm on track still. 

That's all I am going to do for 2017 too - stay on track most of the time, and veer off whenever it feels it'd be worthwhile, and stop anywhere that looks like it has some cool birdsong :)  What are you planning to do with 2017?





18 comments:

  1. Simple but those work for me. A focus on the positive is all that's needed.

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    1. Ya, hang on to the positives and ignore the negatives till they fall apart...that's my general mantra..

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  2. Lovely.
    I hope to continue to muddle along in 2017, taking detours as they present themselves. Or not.

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    1. Same here. Hoping for lots of detours. They're the fun part..

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  3. Lovely poem. {A song we share) So we look forward.

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  4. In 2017? I plan to thank my lucky stars that 2016 is over!

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    1. Ya, I won't be sorry to see the back of it either - though the first half wasn't too bad at all...

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  5. I hope to follow that trick of light. I like the idea of veering about. We shall see. Let's just hope for peace

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    1. Fingers crossed! Could do with double helpings of peace.

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  6. Hi Nila - I have not had a good year .. but things will improve - can hardly get worse ... but I'll get through. Wonderful poem with ideas to match ... the freeflow and do what we can has stood me in good stead - not quite sure why I'm where I am .. but it's an experience if nothing else ... and I'm healthy ... but definitely we need peace, kindness and understanding ... take care and all the best for 2017 - cheers Hilary

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    1. Hi Hilary - I know and I'm so sorry that you've had such a rough year. My year's had some great bits and some really awful bits, very mixed. Bread and birdsong - that's the bottomline, thankful those two have always been around.

      Fingers crossed for a gentler 2017. Wishing you (and all of us) smooth passage in the new year with lots of peace, kindness and understanding. Take care.

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  7. Hi Nila. Taking a mo' out of my holiday in wine country to say hi. Like you, I don't make resolutions as why put pressure on myself to fail? Love your poem. 2017 plans? Finish my book. Get it published. As well as a thousand other things! Like moving back to the beach from the city--bittersweet. I love both.
    See you at WEP.
    Denise :-)

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    1. Hi Denise, enjoy the rest of your holiday! Your pics look heavenly.

      Good luck with the publishing (and moving) plans. May 2017 be a fun year generally, or at any rate more fun than 2016 :)

      See you at WEP!

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  8. No looking back
    just strait ahead
    don't get involved
    that's not for the
    your ideas I like
    it’d work for me

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    1. Looking back only on the nice and then firmly forward :) good to see you here!

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  9. A bit of flexibility and a sense of adventure keeps life interesting. No particular plans yet for 2017. But a bit of "birdsong" always sounds nice to me.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    1. Birdsong is the stuff that makes the bad bearable. I don't make too many plan A-s either only plan B-s...

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