A Grateful Farewell to 2019

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

*

Spruce branches broken by 2-feet of heavy snow

*

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…
*
December 21, 2019

*

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.

*

 

62 thoughts on “A Grateful Farewell to 2019”

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    1. 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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  4. 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.

    Liked by 2 people

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    2. 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!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. 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!

    Liked by 2 people

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  11. 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

    Liked by 2 people

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  12. 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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    1. 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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  15. 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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    1. 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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  16. 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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    2. 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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      1. 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. 💜

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        1. 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. 🙂

          Liked by 1 person

  22. 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.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. 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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  26. 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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