365 Poems in 365 Days: Fresh Starts. Again.
I had intended to post
The creative writing pieces from earlier
But to get out of it the most
I’d add in a poem that would be similar
The first was about a new start
Which I had already written a rhyme
But time has passed; I wrote from the heart
Then posted without prose a second time
1. This is number 182 of 365 poems.
2. Back in January I restarted my creative writing class and our first topic was Fresh Starts. My initial idea, in poetic form is here.
3. I am now trying to catch up so that the number of poems approximately equals the number days that have passed in the year. I am also starting to put up the non-poetic creative writing pieces and to bump up my poetry score, am writing a poem about each one. In all the excitement though I accidentally posted my second fresh start poem without the work it's supposed to introduce. It's here. (I wrote it three days before posting, revised it, liked it, forgot the original intention and just put it up. Oh well.)
4. Finally I have managed to get a poem and the prose together in this post. Since I initially thought Fresh Starts was a lazy and uninspiring topic, but have got three poems and a prose story out of it, I suppose it was a better choice than it seemed.
Fresh Start
It was that moment in a New Year’s party when the thing to do was retreat to the kitchen and complain.
“...It's the wrong time of year anyway; resolutions should be made in a spirit of hope, when you can actually see the rebirth of the sun, not in the depths of winter. There’s no daylight for fifteen hours a day. How can you make a positive change, a fresh start, when you go to work in the dark, go home in the dark and the ten minutes that the sun bothers to come out you’re sitting in a windowless room having a meeting about brand recognition? My resolution is to put off resolutions until the spring equinox. You get four minutes more daylight every day! So, no. No changes and fresh starts in the New Year for me.” I picked up my bottle from the wooden table and took a swig.
“Maybe a fresh shirt though,” said Simon, looking down at his immaculate suit.
I choked and glared at him. Jack intervened. “Did you know that the Persians celebrate New Year at the spring equinox? They call it Nau Ruz and it’s a huge celebration in Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan and other places in Central Asia. Also, the Nepali New Year, Dassain, is celebrated at the autumn equinox. Of course there’s Chinese New Year, based on the lunar calendar.”
I grinned down at him. “See, that’s the kind of time to make resolutions. We should do that.”
Bill came in, and stopped on his way to the fridge to look at me. “Have we gone to casual dress code mate? New year, new clothes?”
Jack tossed his hair out of his eyes. “I leant it to him. Some wine got ...spilled.”
I looked down at the T-shirt with the black metal band logo on. “And I’m not changing anything for the New Year. Not one thing.”
“Can’t keep the resolutions eh? Me, I’m going to give up drinking, take up exercise and eat healthily. A new beginning.” We all looked as he helped himself to a large glass of wine. “But it’s not New Year yet, so time for some booze.”
Simon poked me. “Watch out, it’s that girl who poured her drink on you!”
I watched warily as she approached. A nervous smile fluttered across her face.
“I’m sorry. About earlier. It was a mistake. Mistaken identity. I’m... sorry. Can we begin again? Make a fresh start?” She put out her hand. “Hello. I’m Helen.”
----
6. Information on Central Asian New Years from my brother
7. Alternative title: Kiss at Midnight
8. As I recall the main suggestion for improvement from the class was that the initial rant was too polished and thought out to be believable as speech. Perhaps they're right! It is, of course, based on posts from this very blog.
The creative writing pieces from earlier
But to get out of it the most
I’d add in a poem that would be similar
The first was about a new start
Which I had already written a rhyme
But time has passed; I wrote from the heart
Then posted without prose a second time
1. This is number 182 of 365 poems.
2. Back in January I restarted my creative writing class and our first topic was Fresh Starts. My initial idea, in poetic form is here.
3. I am now trying to catch up so that the number of poems approximately equals the number days that have passed in the year. I am also starting to put up the non-poetic creative writing pieces and to bump up my poetry score, am writing a poem about each one. In all the excitement though I accidentally posted my second fresh start poem without the work it's supposed to introduce. It's here. (I wrote it three days before posting, revised it, liked it, forgot the original intention and just put it up. Oh well.)
4. Finally I have managed to get a poem and the prose together in this post. Since I initially thought Fresh Starts was a lazy and uninspiring topic, but have got three poems and a prose story out of it, I suppose it was a better choice than it seemed.
Fresh Start
It was that moment in a New Year’s party when the thing to do was retreat to the kitchen and complain.
“...It's the wrong time of year anyway; resolutions should be made in a spirit of hope, when you can actually see the rebirth of the sun, not in the depths of winter. There’s no daylight for fifteen hours a day. How can you make a positive change, a fresh start, when you go to work in the dark, go home in the dark and the ten minutes that the sun bothers to come out you’re sitting in a windowless room having a meeting about brand recognition? My resolution is to put off resolutions until the spring equinox. You get four minutes more daylight every day! So, no. No changes and fresh starts in the New Year for me.” I picked up my bottle from the wooden table and took a swig.
“Maybe a fresh shirt though,” said Simon, looking down at his immaculate suit.
I choked and glared at him. Jack intervened. “Did you know that the Persians celebrate New Year at the spring equinox? They call it Nau Ruz and it’s a huge celebration in Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan and other places in Central Asia. Also, the Nepali New Year, Dassain, is celebrated at the autumn equinox. Of course there’s Chinese New Year, based on the lunar calendar.”
I grinned down at him. “See, that’s the kind of time to make resolutions. We should do that.”
Bill came in, and stopped on his way to the fridge to look at me. “Have we gone to casual dress code mate? New year, new clothes?”
Jack tossed his hair out of his eyes. “I leant it to him. Some wine got ...spilled.”
I looked down at the T-shirt with the black metal band logo on. “And I’m not changing anything for the New Year. Not one thing.”
“Can’t keep the resolutions eh? Me, I’m going to give up drinking, take up exercise and eat healthily. A new beginning.” We all looked as he helped himself to a large glass of wine. “But it’s not New Year yet, so time for some booze.”
Simon poked me. “Watch out, it’s that girl who poured her drink on you!”
I watched warily as she approached. A nervous smile fluttered across her face.
“I’m sorry. About earlier. It was a mistake. Mistaken identity. I’m... sorry. Can we begin again? Make a fresh start?” She put out her hand. “Hello. I’m Helen.”
----
6. Information on Central Asian New Years from my brother
7. Alternative title: Kiss at Midnight
8. As I recall the main suggestion for improvement from the class was that the initial rant was too polished and thought out to be believable as speech. Perhaps they're right! It is, of course, based on posts from this very blog.
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