Carol A. Hand
Surveying the snowy, icy, windswept land
clearing a path yet again with the tools at hand
knowing it’s a task that will be repeated
before the long winter has retreated
with the spring of the coming new year
*
*
I wonder …
How many more paths will I have to clear
before I can finally rest away from here?
Some days the pain of life is so hard to bear
making me wish for the long sleep that will take me elsewhere
Branches broken in storms, youth who make poor choices
I feel their loss and anguish in these times of clueless angry voices
*

*
All I ask is the strength to contribute something worthwhile
to raise awareness,
inspire curiosity,
touch a heart,
or bring a smile
to encourage others to clear a path toward peaceful possibilities…
*

*
Thank you so much for sharing the challenges and opportunities of 2019 with me. May the new year, 2020, be kinder and gentler for us all.
*
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Sending my best wishes to you, Cindy, 💜
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Happy New Year, dear Carol! May a new decade be full of wonderful discoveries for you! Cin-cin! Best wishes, Maria
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Dear Maria, may your holidays and new year be filled with blessings. Thank you for your always thoughtful, lovely comments. (Queenie sends his best wishes to you, too. 🙂 )
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Thank you for your wonderful counsel from across the water. I love your posts Carol, I wish you a hopeful and optimistic new year. Xxx
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Thank you so much for your kind and lovely comments, Helen. I was thinking about you and your grandson as I wrote this post. I empathize deeply with the challenges we share as grandmothers. Sending my best wishes to you for a blessed new year. 💜
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Carol, you have raised my awareness, inspired my curiosity, touched my heart, and made me smile. I am grateful for your presence and your words in these often troubling times.
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Dear Joan, I am deeply touched and honored by your kind and lovely comments. I feel the same about you, as well. Thank you. 💜
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A beautiful and resonating poem, Carol. How many people desire to contribute something worthwhile, I wonder. Not enough, it seems, but I’d say you’ve done your part. Wishing you well, Carol.
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Hearing from you is always a gift, Peter. Thank you so much for your kind words, dear friend. Sending my best wishes to you. 💜
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Hi Carol,
I just read your lovely poem for the second time. It is really excellent. I love its flow, rhythm and rhyming.
Thank you for such a lovely message.
Given the importance of the message and the quality of your post, and given what Peter has commented here, I have decided to hyperlink your post to two of mine so that my readers can access yours and be inspired by your post for the rest of 2020!
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May the New Year bring what you desire and deserve so much, Carol!
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Thank you so much for your gracious, lovely comments, Annette. Sending my best wishes for a blessed new year to you. 💜
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May the new year bring many blessings. Thank you for always providing an opportunity to pause and reflect. ❤️
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Thank you for your always kind and lovely comments, Carrie, and for sharing your thoughtful, inspiring reflections. Sending my best wishes to you. 💜
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Tubularsock wishes for the best Carol but would recommend keeping the shovel handy as we proceed into 2020 ……. It is going to get thick and deep ………….. and will make snow look good.
It’s all relative, so have a Happy!
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I actually have 3 ready for duty just outside my door, Tube. There is a lot to shovel these days, aye?
Sending my best wishes to you. 🙂
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Sending you best wishes from the Big Apple.
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Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Edy. Sending you warm wishes from the snowy north country. 💜
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Beautiful and inspiring, Carol. Thank you…and Happy New Year to you and yours!
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Happy new year to you, too, Decker. Thank you as always for your kind and lovely comments, and for sharing your beautiful stories, astute observations, and musical selections.
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Thank you, Carol! And happy new year to you…and a big thank you for all of your inspiring offerings that I, and so many others, enjoy reading.
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Hello Carol,
Happy New Year from Japan.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful and throught-provoking writing throughout the years. I too, wish for 2020 to be a more gentle and kind year for all. Wishing you and your family continued health and happiness.
Best wishes, Takami
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Wishing you a wonderful new year as well, Takami. Thank you for your kind and lovely comments and for sharing the beauty you see in the world.
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Another year dribbled away, eh Carol? Nice poem too. They’re threatening us with snow here and this isn’t snow country… well, only in the surrounding mountains where it belongs. Fortunately I have a blower on stand by, and a pair of skookum studded snow tires also standing by in the shed. Not moving in that direction until there’s no choice. I thought since you’re so nice ‘n all that you wouldn’t mind keeping the snow all to yourself… If you want some real shoveling you could go and clean the manure out of the white house, I hear it’s about shoulder high now and rising. 😄
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It’s good to hear from you, Sha’Tara. This year has brought a bounty of snow – 4 feet and counting followed by rain and some above freezing weather. And as challenging as it is to keep clearing a path, it’s a lot easier to deal with snow than it is to contemplate how to begin shoveling out the mess in DC.
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Inspiring and profound words said, Carol. Happy New Year to you and your family too.
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Thank you so much for your kind and lovely comments and blessings, Kamal. Sending my best wishes to you. 💜
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Welcome 😊😊😊 Carol. Blessings to you too 🙏
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Happy 2020
🎆🎉🎆
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Thank you, Luisa. May you have a blessed new year, too. 💜
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😘😘😘
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Your words resonate deeply with me, Carol. The older I get, the more I feel the need to make a difference, to touch hearts and minds and to uplift others on their journey. May Peace prevail on earth during 2020. Love and blessings from my heart to yours 💜💙💚
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Dear Izzy, thank you so much for sharing your kind words and important insights. Your photos and poetry resonate deeply with me as well – sisters in spirit across the Atlantic. Sending love and blessings to you, too, dear friend. 💜
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Thank you, Carol. I’ve met so many kindred spirits here on WordPress. I am truly blessed. 💙
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Happy New Year!!.. hope you have a wonderful New Year filled with hope, love and happiness and life is all that you wish for it to be!!.. 🙂
Until we meet again!!.
May the sun shine all day long
Everything go right, nothing go wrong
May those you love bring love back to you
May all the wishes you wish come true
May peace be within you
May your heart be strong
May you find whatever you’re seeking
Wherever you may roam
(Irish Saying)
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Thank you so much for your kind and lovely comments, Dutch, and for sharing your gentle wisdom. May your new year be blessed as well. 💜
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Hello Carol,
It’s 2020 and time flies . . . .
I concur with DutchIl and Izzy, and would like to echo their sentiments here.
Thank you for your kind wishes and sensitive thoughts for all of us.
I would like to wish you a belated Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year with my very special, animated post containing some upbeat and heartfelt messages to share with you at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/season-greetings-from-soundeagle-merry-christmas-happy-new-year-and-joyful-holiday/
There is now a new, short and witty rhyming poem of mine that I recently included in the said post.
Happy New Year to all of you and also Happy Perihelion on Sunday 5th January 2020 at around 7:48 GMT when the Earth reaches at the point on its orbit at which it is at its closest to the Sun, where the distance from the Sun’s centre to Earth’s centre will be 147,091,144 km, as oppose to Aphelion (the furthest distance from the Sun) at 12:34 GMT on Saturday 4th July 2020 when the centre of the Earth will be 152,095,295 km from the centre of the Sun.
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Thank you so much for your kind and lovely comments, Sound Eagle, and for sharing the link to your beautiful blog. You have done an incredible job creating a rich source of knowledge and beauty. Sending my gratitude and best wishes to you. 💜
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Dear Carol,
You are very welcome. Thank you for your visit and compliment. Please feel free to give me your thoughts or feedback at the comment sections of my posts.
There are also some very useful and informative pages for you to enjoy, such as those entitled “Humour”, “Writing” and “Manuscript”.
Please enjoy to your heart’s content. 🙂
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“May the new year, 2020, be kinder and gentler for us all.”
Amen!
And I wish for the best for you and your family, Carol!
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Thank you, Dave. It’s always a pleasure to hear from you. I send my best wishes to you as well, dear friend.
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Happy New Year, Carol. Here’s to you and to new adventures, avenues, and possibilities in the coming decade!
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Dear Joan, it is such a gift to hear from you! Thank you for your kindness. Wishing you all the best in the coming year (and decade). 💜
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Happy New Year, Carol! ❤ May peace and love abound… xo
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Dear Bette, that you for your always kind and lovely comments. Wishing you are the best in the new year. 💜
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Yes, a wonderful offering – may it be kinder and gentler.
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Thank you so much for your kind words, Paul. Sending my best wishes to you. 💜
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Thank you Carol 🙂
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Amen ❤
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Hearing from you is always a gift, dear friend. Sending hugs and best wishes.
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Thanks, Carol ❤
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Don’t worry too much about those Spruce branches. Clean them up in the spring when your back feels better. They’ll burn nice and slow before you plant the first seeds. Sure smoky, still green, test the wind. . . you had to put up with a giant water slide, if your neighbour complains.. 🙂 Then again you could mulch the smaller stuff and use the big sticks for bean poles. After a year the woodpeckers will come and eat the bugs under the bark. Have you ever seen a woodpecker on a bean pole? It’s like a cherry on a cake. Take care Carol, I hope the following blurb gives you a chuckle as it was intended.
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I just pulled the branches off the shed roof for now, Bob. They’re covered by frozen snow so they can stay until spring. I like your idea about the bean poles. I was trying to think of some ways to use the branches.
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Hello Carol, Happy New Year to you. Thank you for posting such a wonderful poem. Inspirational; thankyou.
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Thank you so much for your kind and lovely comments, Michael, and for your New Year’s blessing. I am grateful to Andrea (https://harvestinghecate.wordpress.com/) for sharing your powerful and enchanting story, “The Terkel” (https://michaelbruton.blog/2019/12/10/the-terkel/). I look forward to reading more of your stories and send my best wishes to you. 💜
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Wishing you a Blessed n Happy NYear, Carol! ☀️ ♥️
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Iris, it is always a gift to hear from you. Thank you for your new year blessings. May your new year be blessed as well.💜
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Wonderful poem! Wishing you a peaceful life through out the year!!! 🌷
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Thank you for your kind and lovely comments, Suni, and for your blessings. Sending my best wishes to you, too. 💜
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Beautiful. ‘I wonder how many more paths will I have to clear…” and “all I ask is the strength to contribute something worthwhile”…..these two thoughts can really exist side by side. It reminds me of few people I have seen and admired in my life, who have helped others and made important differences in many lives, but they still strive to do more. Your poem brought up this other side that these people can feel tired too, still they push themselves to do more.
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Thank you for sharing such profound insights with such clarity and eloquence, Pirootb. I appreciate your kind and lovely presence and comments. 💜
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