Perhaps the old year will pull away like a train,
leave us standing on the platform
under an oleander dawn,
wanting to bloom.
And not far off, as close as January,
something bright, coming down the tracks,
new but recognizable,
like a garden on wheels.
Those colours and tastes of childhood,
no matter how much gloss we add,
no matter how many brands we buy,
don’t happen anymore.
And to try for auld lang syne is to toy with madness.
That small craze of clearing out our closets was a good thing.
Look what we’ve kept.
Even here, in this sprawling city, are ponds,
left to the ducks, and green ribbons
left to themselves, connecting the divisions.
And that’s something.
But why stop there, we’ve got this new year.
Let it all grow wild, let the heart walk free
of the need to master our tears,
to curb our burgeoning love, for fear
of being sentimental,
even rejecting the surprises of kindness,
because we weren’t prepared.
Let it all grow.
We know we want to.
It’s permaculture.
Let it grow in the sun and the wind and even the storms,
this tangle, even if we could, doesn’t need undoing.
Let us rejoice in the confusion
of these vines running through us, connecting us,
suddenly blooming.
Wishing you a beautiful New Year!
Oh my, Stephen, your poetry makes my mind jubilate with joy as I marvel at the way you say things. Today my favourite lines include these: “…Let it all grow wild, let the heart walk free | of the need to master our tears, | or curb our burgeoning love, for fear of being sentimental, | even rejecting the surprises of kindness, | because we weren’t prepared.”
Thank you!
Brenda 🙂
Thank you so much for that Brenda!
As always, Stephen, this is beautiful and timely.
“Those colours and tastes of childhood,
no matter how much gloss we add,
no matter how many brands we buy,
don’t happen anymore.”
I heard so many people this year express a longing for what used to be – the holidays of yesteryear before loss of parents or an entire generation or the realities of a lingering pandemic and the divides it has caused in families. There is a longing for some time in the past which seemed better, especially since time has washed away the unfavorable parts of those memories.
I think that I prefer the idea of purging closets, looking ahead to new growth and opportunity, and cherishing what connects us to each other instead of what divides.
Wishing you a joyful and healthy new year. I am thankful that we are connected by a vine and that you are so willing to freely share your beautiful writing.
Thanks, Diane, for your generous reading, and always insightful response.
“Where the Wild Things Are” comes to mind. And the movement, Wild Ones, that encourages the botanical unfolding and freedom that, as you write, also happens in the soul when we let it. Now more botanical analogies are coming to mind…(I can’t help myself)..like the wonder of a garden whose plants are left to self-sow and wander where they will, creating a new beauty uncurated by our defensive intentions. Thank you for enlivening my snow-covered day, Stephen!
PS…Your words also caused me to think of recently sampling Wheat Thins and Fritos, in hopes of tasting the past. But I was disappointed. The past is no longer there in the present formulations.
Ah, thanks for this Ann, lovely you made all these connections, how they came to mind. Smiling here.
“Suddenly blooming”, to a wild kind of
perfection!
Righteous, joyous and hopeful
exactly as prescribed
and precisely
“like a garden on wheels”
Thank you Stephen… always
As always, thank you for reading, and your encouragement. For me, heartwarming.
“Let it all grow wild, let the heart walk free
of the need to master our tears,
to curb our burgeoning love, for fear
of being sentimental,
even rejecting the surprises of kindness,
because we weren’t prepared.”
Beautiful. Thank you Stephen
Thank you, Ananda. I’m quite sure that the gist of that is borrowed from somewhere. Although I can’t place it, so I’ll happily take credit. 🙂
I especially loved “the vines running through us, connecting us.”
Happy New Year to you too!
Thank you Sam. Happy new year to you as well!