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New Year's Tidings: Meander while writing

12/29/2017

12 Comments

 
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Happy last few days of the year Poetry Friday friends! It has been a year filled with unexpected twists and turns. I wish you all a marvelous new year filled with much laughter and writing! Don't miss stopping over at Heidi's space My Juicy Little Universe, for the last round-up of the year.

For me, this year has been filled with lingering happiness and unexpected sadness. As I look back on a year gone by, I remember all the opportunities and changes that were brought into my life. I think about what was gained and what was lost. I let go and let it pass. I say goodbye to all that must fall away, and hello to a year brimming with new hope on the rise. May the dawning of this new year bring you blessings of health and good cheer! 

New Year’s Tidings
The smell from the kitchen of fresh baked bread and black-eyed peas to ring in the new
year, a celebration of the old one as it passes, never to bring back the hours, those soon
to be forgotten. January winds will blow; now come the days by the fireplace glow and
days with the promise of snow. So tonight, tuck the memories away. Say goodbye to the
old year passing. Raise a glass and make a toast to all your dreams and hopes. Listen as
the chimes ring out: Here’s to a new year without any doubt and all the good things it
brings about.
© Kiesha Shepard

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Dawn on a frosty morning-photo by Kiesha Shepard
And because I follow the moon in all its glorious phases, I had to share this photo of a Wolf Moon over the ridge. A January full moon is known as a Wolf Moon for obvious reasons. Stand outside on some cold January night, and you can hear the wolves howling at the moon. This year, we're in for a real treat as we will see not one, but two full moons in January. When you have two full moons in one month, it's called a Blue Moon. That means the full moon on January 1st and January 31st will be both a Wolf Moon and a Blue Moon. You can bet I'll be writing a super-duper blue wolf moon poem in honor of this momentous occasion!
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January Wolf Moon on The Ridge- photo by Kiesha Shepard

Invitation to Write:

Spend some time thinking about the events in the past year. Reread some of your notebook entries across the span of the year. What do you notice? Write whatever thoughts come to my mind. Allow your thoughts to meander through the past and drift into the future. Many realizations can come to us when we write in this way. May you find the answers to many of your dreams and aspirations in your writing this year!
12 Comments
B.J. Lee
12/29/2017 08:58:37 am

Nice reflections, Keisha! Beautiful photos!

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Kay Jernigan McGriff link
12/29/2017 10:36:06 am

Such wise words to end out the year and beautiful photographs. I look forward to reading your blue wolf moon poems for the new year!

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Linda Mitchell link
12/29/2017 12:03:20 pm

What good tidings you write of. I get a little melancholy about saying goodbye. But, I try to embrace the new year's goodness as fast as I can too. I look forward to moon poems from you and more and more invitations to writing. Happy New Year, friend. I wish you many beautiful words.

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Amy Ludwig VanDerwater link
12/29/2017 02:11:48 pm

Good tidings to you and yours too, Kiesha! I want to learn more about the moon...and your post makes this even more true. Here's to a beautiful, joyous, moonful 2018. I love these in-between days of writing and thinking and imagining the year ahead, so full of possibility. xx

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Mary Lee
12/30/2017 04:51:50 am

Love your prose poem and thanks for the full moon/wolf moon/blue moon info! Poem-worthy indeed! I love that we'll start the new year with a full moon. May I please take that as a good omen?

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Christie Wyman link
12/30/2017 05:18:36 am

Love this thoughtful post, Keisha. Isn't the moon fascinating? Just yesterday I was marveling at the moon schedule for 2018 in my Audubon newsletter. Looking forward to lots of notebook scribbling, too. Happy New Year! -- Christie

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Linda Baie link
12/30/2017 09:50:06 am

It is a wonder about the moon, Kiesha. I've done moon watching forever, and with my students too. It's a little gift we can count on, isn't it? I like the way you arranged your poem, gliding from the end to welcome the new: "now come the days by the fireplace glow and
days with the promise of snow". Happy New Year to you on that ridge!

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Michelle Kogan link
12/30/2017 02:15:42 pm

I like your "fireplace glow" it reminds me of the full moons that will be shining upon us in the New Year! Thanks too for the info on the wolf and blue moons that are coming–inspiring writing material.
Happy New Year!

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Tabatha
12/30/2017 04:36:29 pm

Thanks for sharing your moon studies with us. Fascinating!
Happy New Year!

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Heidi link
12/30/2017 07:30:11 pm

Sounds like you've had more of a year even than the rest of us! I do hope 2018 brings you a blue wolf howl of happiness, Kiesha.

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Linda Mitchell
1/1/2018 04:45:35 am

Keisha,

I saw this on twitter and thought of you. It's a Sandra Boyton cartoon about the Wolf Moon. Hugs.
https://twitter.com/SandyBoynton/status/947810098314907648

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LifePoemsProject link
4/11/2018 06:46:14 pm

Your poem affected life?! Yes, you can share your lovely poem and its great "after story" with the world... Submit now on LifePoemsProject.com

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    Welcome! I'm Kiesha Shepard, and I have a love for writing and the teaching of writing. Whispers From the Ridge is a place where I can share my words and ideas for teaching writing. It's also a place for you to find inspiration for writing the words inside of you. I invite you into my world of writing as I capture the whispers from the ridge.

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Photos used under Creative Commons from Kristine Paulus, Ryan Hodnett, Marie Hale, gurdonark, btrentler, Kelly Colgan Azar, jeffreyw, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region
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