A Joyful Noise

Why people don't take artists seriously :)

Emancipation--Musings on the New Year

I wrote this poem in 2004 as I contemplated the coming new year. Feel free to share it, but please give credit.

Each year I made my list, tongue poked out in concentration,
Swore off fat foods, all drink and vice, with fierce determination.
I hatched grand schemes to reach my dreams, I breathed anticipation,
And I avowed (right here and now!): no more procrastination.

But as those days unwound, I found my resolution soften;
Each small defeat seemed so complete, and they seemed to come so often.

Day by day it bled away, all my red determination,
Each vaunted vow abandoned now, a study in stagnation.
And in my mind, I was defined by lack of dedication,
By willful worthless weakness, until---a revelation----

Each time I’d failed, I could have sailed new waters, but I didn’t;
I’d missed each chance to learn a dance whose steps had then stayed hidden.
Now the past is set, I can’t regret; but my heart looks ever forward,
And I embrace this time and place, and all that I move toward.

Unlike before, I won’t ignore the simple realization
That my vows are kept when I accept myself as destination.

Like fruitful plants, my dreams advance in fertile ground, well-seeded;
I lean to lights at greater heights, each new day’s dreams exceeded.

copyright Jacqueline Brazil 2004

Magdalena

It's about gratitude, humility, trust.