Friday, January 1, 2016

Happy New Year: Burning 2015

This poem...it speaks to me. I copied it, by hand, into my little poetry notebook yesterday. And it was a struggle. Not because it was hard to use good penmanship, but rather because it stirs up so many emotions. Leaving a year behind is often celebrated. Resolutions and confetti stuffed down our throats and thrown in our faces. There is so much more to it than that.

I have a friend. Well, she's more than a friend. And she recently moved away. Far away. I came within an angstrom of giving her this as a going away present. But I chickened out. I give it to you, instead, with hopes that it finds its way to her.

Burning the Old Year

BY NAOMI SHIHAB NYE
Letters swallow themselves in seconds.   
Notes friends tied to the doorknob,   
transparent scarlet paper,
sizzle like moth wings,
marry the air.

So much of any year is flammable,   
lists of vegetables, partial poems.   
Orange swirling flame of days,   
so little is a stone.

Where there was something and suddenly isn’t,   
an absence shouts, celebrates, leaves a space.   
I begin again with the smallest numbers.

Quick dance, shuffle of losses and leaves,   
only the things I didn’t do   
crackle after the blazing dies.

May your burnings be bright. And what's left after the blaze be your charge into a new year.

2 comments:

  1. Curing floor grinder for sale
    A floor grinder machine for cylindrical, conical or other shaped surfaces and shaft shoulder surfaces. The workpiece is supported between the two centers of the head frame and the tail seat, and the dial of the head frame drives the rotation for circular feed movement. The head frame and tail seat are mounted on the workbench, and can be used for longitudinal reciprocating feed movement (see machine tool). The working table is divided into two layers. The upper working table can adjust a small Angle to grind the conical surface.

    ReplyDelete
  2. blood pressure watch professional in R&D wearable blood pressure monitor, in the innovative form of a wrist watch, proactively monitors your heart health by turning real-time heart data into heart.
    mason jar lids canning lids supplier. offer canning Lids in different style and size
    Cervical spine massager We aim to create a healthy lifestyle that assists every individual to de-stress, relax. unwind and streamline a pain-free life and at the same time feel and look amazing.
    sex machine for her Choose Sex Machine to Get Orgasm and Enjoy Life|
    neon light for roomNeon Signs Light Is One-of-a-Kind Activities Designed and Hosted by Expert Locals. All Experiences are Vetted for Quality.

    ReplyDelete