It’s time to poem like it’s 2013, because, well, it’s 2013!
For this week’s prompt, write a resolved poem. The poem can list new year resolutions, show a person resolved to do something, or any other unique angle you resolve to write.
Here’s my attempt at a Resolved Poem:
“Here We Go”
Another year, another list
of promises to myself from
myself. Write more and quit eating
too much. Run more than every
so often. Save money and pay
attention to the internal
voice I usually ignore,
though it’s nearly always correct.
Here we go. The first step a trip.
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New Year Resolution 2013
by Juanita Lewison-Snyder
This year
I resolve to
eat my weight in chocolate and gummies,
empty the clip of my favorite air soft on
my neighbor’s marauding peacocks more often,
and stop habitually poking my poor Rott
in the eye when doling out free facials.
This year
I aspire to
wax poetic on my new porch glider,
learn to edit and burn video with gusto,
and take that well earned vacation to
Hades hotbed, Craters of the Moon.
This year
I promise to
get around to decluttering the place,
pruning the fruit trees, and reclaiming my
outdoor living space so that the mailman
can find the path to my front door once more
when the checks finally start rolling in.
© 2013 by Juanita Lewison-Snyder
How it Happens
Upon the rock of my soul,
I press my willingness to fight,
To do what it takes,
And redeem myself once again.
1/08/13
Just back from vacation, and late to the party. Happy New Year, all!
Mine is here:
http://whimsygizmo.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/resolved/
— Happy belated New Year to all, trying to get this year off to a poetic start since not having written much for a while now, —-
Don’t Drop The Ball
“I will confine my dreams
to their restless place, Sleep.”
all the little lights,
bulbs flashing the ideas,
the dangers of emitting
diodes,like suffocating stars
a-blinking from an almost
asphyxiation – holding my breath
inebriated those last seconds,
pride scoffed superstition,
toasted the cheers unbelieving,
if we are cursed to spend more
time partying so be it – these
midnight hours to come – we have
already resolved to do so, making
and keeping resolutions – the easy half,
What is harder is admitting -
kissing your owned shortcomings,
untill eyes stream a dry forgiveness;
realizing you failed – dropped the ball -
the previous year; now seeing it symbolically
drop on screen – three, two, one – countless pieces.
Making It easy
While I meditate on the new year,
I resolve to fall more in love with life.
Let me count the ways.
Take my poets eye and open it further still,
To higher ground.
Know what makes my heart sing,
As I make a contribution.
Poetry is everything!
RESOLVED
Vegetables, yes, Eat!
Sleep, yes, More!
Exercise, yes, A Chore!
Water, yes, Drink More!
Patient, yes, Try!
A better me, a better life?
Well who knows? Sigh.
Epiphany
Do not argue with the powers that be. There is no point
unless you are willing to engage in revolution. I don’t think
I have the stomach for the violence it would entail.
Resolved.
Thank you for the prompt, Robert.
Smiles to everyone!
http://wordrustling.wordpress.com/2013/01/04/planted-feet-lifted-eyes/
A resolved poem
A new year is here but my resolves are not clear
I yen for many things but many things yen not for me
I have little to say on this forth new years day
No pretty mellifluous words to speak, write, or say
No resolutions shall I claim, I’ve yet to make a one
That I did not break within a few new years days
A few perhaps have lasted a month or so
But always get undermined by old lazy ways
There is one resolve though that I am thinking of this day
A coming to terms if you will perhaps is a batter way to say
A writer I am not I must honestly say but I hope to resolve this a little each day
This writing thing I hate to say is not as easy as some have claimed.
But I resolve to not give up and write a little every day
inch by inch I’ve heard it said this makes it a synch
but yard by yard they say that makes it hard
so my resolve as I close this poem
is to write a little with each new day
and that is all I can say on this forth new years day.
Nod to Emily aka Gilda Radner
What is all this talk of New Years Revolutions?
So many people making plans
and breaking plans
but not joining together
as one
for the fight
let’s get it together!
what?
resolutions?
oh
nevermind
Breaking Point
To say there is a right or wrong
to say there is wrong or right
to understand what others do
to see them stand up and fight
Taken time
reflecting back
over what has come and gone
the loved ones that have stayed with you
the ones who have just moved on
A new start
a new beginning
where everyone is fighting and winning
new plans and deals to make
some will last
some will break
Be gentle along the way
of how you dance and play
be careful with your steps
don’t try to upset
Gentle hearts and gentle minds
curious adventures
stealing rhymes
clover wishes
beating drums
whispering fields
oh here she comes
Be your own destiny
not follow in that of others
hold onto the hands that hold you
especially your lovers
Resolved though I may be
to pick myself up and move on
I am still tied down
to the memory of that day
the day they left
the day the innocence ended.
My resolution hath no constitution
A conflagration needing absolution
Confusion leading to destitution
Abandon ye the annual intusion
Love this!
Thx, that last word sb intrusion.
THIS YEAR
A song wants to be sung through me,
measure for measure my heart’s rhythm
promises uncertain lyrics. Each beat
a hymn of praise, a dirge of lament.
Earth embraces the seed, a redemption
waits revelation to reveal its secret,
green, yellow, red, lavender, blooms
which will parish for another redemption.
Is merit dependent on color or source
or is the act of disclosing enough
for my song to adequately nourish
flowers to seed and bloom again?
What else is the heart good for
but to ache for love, for loss?
Resolved
Resolved 101 –
Each year a new page, a new
Start
Only the start always falters
Last years resolution lies in empty
Vaults unfinished,
Echoes of years past this year,
Doubts of future so I solve nothing – again.
This is the final poem from the Werewolf of Oz: Fantasy Travel by Google Maps, when Grey had resolved its epic travel quest across Australia by Google Maps:
We swam side by side
until he dived beneath
to turn around
at top of Barrier Reef;
my original Oz
landmark brief;
we happily said goodbye
finality’s welcome relief.
The seasons change
Friends move out of range
Distance turns intimacy cold
But we can still be bold
New friends will be made
They are hiding in the shade
We don’t need to resolve
To make a promise to be involved
Friends are friends are everywhere
Just don’t show up in underwear
Say hello or buy a drink
Tell him or her what you really think
We don’t need to live alone
To sit upon our lonely throne
Just get up, put on your shoes
You have nothing more to lose
Seeing friends move away
Opens doors for others I say
Life is life and it’s too gold
To sit around, getting old
Embrace the Shadows
Today was his birthday
He always loved this day
Black eyes shining
As a boy though he
was my father
Today, the early morning
Still dark and silent
In the kitchen
warm air
stirred
in the laughing
shadows
swirling
with no customary
cardinal he was
there
shining
Today was his birthday
Happy
We’re Resolved
New year’s come
and we look forward,
set new goals,
give our all.
We’re resolved…for a few weeks.
There’s always next year.
REASONABLE RESOLVE
Every day presents itself as a challenge
As I choose to honor, to act upon
Putting pen to paper,
Come up with an idea and write each day.
I will set aside precious time
Fill my head with interesting characters
Who entertain that insatiable thirst
Created by a vivid imagination.
Writiing begets writing
And I beget to complete a full manuscript
Locate, hire an agent
Become published.
No one can convince and motivate yourself but you;
I resolve
Whole heart, soul and body
To stay motivated.
LaSteph
Resolution Dissolution
Happy New You!
Let’s cease this
insane insistence
on improvements.
Stop trying to be someone
else, someone better; we’re not
cut out to be seamless, faultless.
Let’s just resolve to cut ourselves
some slack, embrace our im-
perfections, wholly
accept ourselves – flaws and all
Indeed!! I agree Pamela!!
’s to you!
Amen sista!
BRIEF AS A DOG’S LIFE
This resolution: thinking I could save my dogs –
search partners for life – and never say goodbye.
Walking Prissy to the vet, I threw sticks for her
along the way; walked home under lonesome sky.
Roxy, full of cancer – one last outing in the woods,
then I drove her to the vet. In the end, I let her die.
Cowboy’s almost ten now, slowing down; muzzle
turning gray. What on earth’s forever but a lie?
And this brave new puppy, Loki, partner for my
life – what shall I resolve as years of dogs go by?
Big Plans
List trifling and doable deeds
to boost your sense of possibility.
Not outcomes, like clean the house,
but dust a chair, then dust another one.
Don’t hanker after saving the world.
Save pocket change, save your errands
for once a week, save a friend from drowning.
List what you do already. That stuff gets done.
Build in quiet time, a nap, a book,
an hour to write, a glass of wine,
a cat on your lap, a talk with a friend
who makes you laugh, who forgives you
for being yourself.
Make music, play games,
cry when you need to,
curse inventively,
have adventures,
bring order to something,
love somebody.
Be true.
Make big plans
out of little bitty
peaceful
moments.
Oh yes! I love this, Jane!
Resoluku
Re=again
Solution=answer
What is the question?
A New Year
A chance to start again,
a chance to rein
in the raging beast of weight,
the ravages of advancing fate.
A time to make a difference
shrug off that clingy indifference,
one person is all it takes
what’s within are the stakes.
Yes it’s a new year
but let’s make one thing clear,
every day is a new day
so if you stray
don’t wait for another year!
In 2013 I’ve resolved to write crazy poetry, here’s my first sample:
http://cloudfactor5.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/wednesday-poetry-prompts-204/
Happy New Year to all !!
Re-solved
I wake up to bananas with bruises —
bright sunny fruit just days ago
Walk through doors
born to open and close,
not revolve
Math no longer calculates
when it allows
planets to be subtracted
My Backseat Bingo card expired
when cement mixers and cattle guards
went out of style
###
I resolve to spend less time
turning my head—
the horizon is straightforward
and fantastic
gang way
not so quiet riot in my head
says write right,
as much as you can.
another channel screams
there’s so much
more important stuff to do.
riot, rumbles, screams
let it be: who cares besides you?
continue, continue,
get the words down.
words don’t care if you suffer frowns.
sit down there right now,
reach long
for accomplishment’s crown.
In Need
By: R.A. Slater
01/02/13
I am in need of a revolution
As it is the New Year
And I have now resolutions!
I am either happy with my life as it is
Or I have given up
Too defeated to hope for something better
Too scared to even try
Maybe next year!
Resolution
Resolved: I will try harder to
stick to goals I’ve set for this year.
Become some country’s new Premier.
Compose an étude for kazoo.
Dye all my pets in shades of blue.
Try to swing on a chandelier.
Stick to goals I’ve set for this year?
Resolved: I will try harder to
learn to be an auctioneer
and try to not sound insincere.
And then – to space. The new frontier.
Well, that’s the stuff I plan to do.
Resolved: I will try harder to…
###
lol… thanks for the giggles, RJ
LOL I’ll second that!
Resolve
the time has come
to show my worth
to conquer all
and heal past hurts
moving forward
i shed my skin
and let the new
begin again
Eileen Maki 01.02.2013
http://www.EileenMaki.com
The Will To Submit
poems for poeming’s sake
no longer;
time to get published
Good for you… best of luck!
Go With Your Gut
Follow sage advice
from your gut,
trustworthy innards
for contemplating life
decisions. Brain begets
logic, hearts harbors
emotion, while gut
is grit and truth.
So true and wise, Sarah. Great write!
Oh, also you know I love the alliteration in brain begets and heart harbors, right?! I do. <3
To problems resolved! (My cat, Suzie, went missing on December 19, and came home December 26. I have my theories as to where she’d been.)
I just wonder where my cat went.
We found she was gone at meal-time.
(To her to miss meals was a crime
yet, we missed her hungry lament.)
No hair we found, or sign or scent.
We called and searched the ally grime.
We found she was gone at meal-time.
I just wonder where my cat went.
And, at last, eight days later, rent,
scarred nose, hungry, fur-begrimed,
No sign of where she’d spent her dime.
To Narnia? To Time-Lord lent?
I just wonder where my cat went.
Two birds with one poem…I was behind on writing my Poetic Bloomings poem, which I finally did this morning. And then I realized it’s Wednesday. Like Connie, I’m posting my PB poem here.
http://whenwordsescape.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/inner-resolve/
Denouement
I yearn for more than resolution—conflict over, win or lose.
Instead, by year’s end, I long for denouement, threads
of my life unraveled, each strand untangled, unknotted,
smooth as the hair on a brand-new Barbie doll.
In my year’s plot, pitting man—or woman—versus man,
nature, fate, the gods, the machine or—most likely,
versus self, I hope not merely for any resolution,
but happy resolution, the little angel on one shoulder
knocking the little devil clean off the other,
silencing his foolish talk once and for all.
Denouement
I yearn for more than resolution—conflict over, win or lose.
Instead, by year’s end, I long for denouement, threads
of my life unraveled, each strand untangled, unknotted,
smooth as the hair on a brand-new Barbie doll.
In my year’s plot, pitting man—or woman—versus man,
nature, fate, the gods, the machine or—most likely,
versus self, I hope not merely for any resolution,
but happy resolution, the little angel on one shoulder
knocking the little devil clean off the other,
silencing his foolish talk once and for all.
Love this, Nancy… I can feel that Barbie hair.
Count the Beat
Time is calculated.
60 seconds/ 60 minutes/ 24 hours/ 7 days/ 52 weeks/ year.
Move forward, move backward
in time. You can always
calculate it.
Life is not calculated.
Life is measured, counted
by heartbeats.
So many/minute – so many/hour – so many/day – so many/year.
So many/life.
Every second is yours to choose.
Every minute belongs to you.
Your life-beats are not
calculated, but counted,
because they count.
The calculation of time
continues long after we are gone.
But the counting is ours,
and ours alone.
This year, I choose to make them count.
Ellen Knight 1.2.13
MICHAUX SUR SON VELOCIPEDE
photograph by André Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri, 1867
Where is he going,
on this odd vehicle?
Smudge-cheek
boys shout “boneshaker!” as
he whizzes by far
faster than
the man in top
hat and frock coat
rapping sidewalk
with his umbrella – but
who cares for rain,
when one
propels himself
on wind and pedal
power, faster than the
hansom he
passes as the driver
curses and the horses
shy. So
strange this animal that
skims the ground without
lifting a
hoof, a sort of
metal-flesh alloy centaur
with a
pulled-down cap. And
in that man-shaped head,
what thoughts,
this bright uncertain morning?
Where is he speeding
as if
impatient for his future,
as if resolved to
propel himself
into his fleeting life?
I love your take on the whole resolution theme. cool
ANOTHER YEAR.
Usually I resolve not to resolve,
hating the gravel pit of failure,
the scattered, broken bits
of promises made to myself
then left to the elements to
crumble in the company of
other broken bits of promises
made to myself.
So this year, again,
I resolve not to resolve,
but simply to gaze
more outwardly than inward,
to breathe deeply
in the cold or the heat,
to celebrate this body
with its (mostly) working parts,
to treat myself as kindly
as I treat others.
In other words,
this year I choose
to live.
I like this resolution, Julie! Looks like we were on similar pages. :-]
Yep! i said an “amen” to yours!
Yes!! Excellent!
Elevators
Some exist for mood,
Others for status,
One moves a body up
To heights demanded below.
A problem’s fixer has no
Need for explanation,
But comes from itself—
An opposite of its target,
Regardless of restriction.
To resolve is to solve again,
Which tells me fixers are
Only temporary at best.
Temporary indeed… love your clever approach to the prompt, Claudsy.
Love the metaphor and deep message, Claudsy. Great approach!
I’m going to cheat a bit and use this one I wrote for Poetic Bloomings the other day.
Wedding Vows to My Muse
My darling Muse,
I promise
to nurture you through the bread of the Word
and wine of the Spirit.
I promise
to strengthen you by reading works of other poets
and poetry how-to books (including doing the exercises)
and continuing to write a poem a day.
I promise to
make you happy
by increasing my skills
in the use of metaphor, details, meter and rhyme.
I promise
to strengthen our social life as a couple
by participating on poetry blogs and challenges
and by helping and encouraging friends through poetry.
I promise
to not hold you back,
by publishing poetry books and
submitting poems to magazines and journals.
This I promise, for better or worse, in 2013.
Love this, Connie. Excellent vows.
It is just as wonderful now as it was then
Nicely done! I really like this outtake! Bravo!
I AM RESOLUTE
I bring my game
along with this name
I’ve inherited and honed.
Determined to use this time given
to be driven to success,
and this mess of a muse
will refuse to falter.
Standing tall with all
who aspire to poem,
I’ve shown them and have nothing
to prove; my grove is never my rut..
With a glut of words yet to use
I will choose them wisely
and be surprised by my resolve
to solve the puzzle.
I am grounded.
I am steeled.
I am resolute.
Excellent as always, Walt. You are all of these things and then some.
Powerful and determined…this is expressed with such positive gusto! Very nice, Walt!
Francis in January (resolved – PA, a rondel)
Saint Francis had it right, you know
in letting go what he held dear
to find that God is always near
in loving acts – as his words show:
“Where charity and wisdom go
live neither ignorance nor fear.”
In letting go what he held dear
Saint Francis had it right, you know.
What struggle and reward to grow
in simple gifts. Yet it’s my clear
resolve to bathe in grace this year
by letting love set me aglow.
Saint Francis had it right, you know.
Lovely, Andrew. This is a peaceful poem–much needed and a worthy goal.
My favorite prayer… and this is amazing, Andrew. Thanks for sharing.
Renew.
renew (definition to resume activity after an interruption.)
my commitment to:
dieting, running, walking, writing
cross out dieting, running, walking.
.renew. commitment to
writing, passion, poetry. beauty.
Funny and so true. Good one, Billie.
2013: A Year for Love
Paint the new year red
with two-thousand thirteen
people side by side, ankles
crossed, thumbs and forefingers
forming hearts in the sky, then
let go, in unison,
a wave of love across our land
join hands in prayer
for love and peace–
paint the new year red.
I like this, Laurie. A good thought and image. Bravo.
Thanks, Claudsy. Happy New Year!
I, too, enjoy this image and message, Laurie!! Well done.