It seems every writing site is delving into the New Year’s resolution. We weren’t any different. But, I figured if we got it out of the way early, we could dispense with it for another 51 weeks. I resolve to not post another resolution prompt until then. That’s one I plan on sticking to!!!
MARIE ELENA’S SELECTION:
I’m such a sucker for good humor, and my friend Kate Wilson is, well, full of it. 
“When Resolution Meets Experience” is simply so very Kate – simple, honest, and fun. The cadence is perfect, making this even more of a fun read. Kate, I’m grinning ear-to-ear as I offer you this week’s “Beautiful Bloom.”
When Resolution Meets Experience (by Kate Wilson)
Well, you know how it is: I can staunchly resolve,But I’ll end up more restless than driven. Still, I aim to be strong and I aim to be brave
And I aim to not waste what I’m given, Whether friendships or time, scraps of talent or goods—
To encourage these things I have striven. But when, frankly, it’s down to the push or the shove,
Hey… I mostly just plan to keep livin’.
WALT’S CHOICE:
The dreaded resolution does not necessarily mean a lifestyle change. It could simply be a determination to excel in one thing, to be better at one thing. Or try one thing. But we seek a fulfillment in that one spec of life and if it offers us inner peace, we have become better people or poets. It is well expressed in Michael Grove’s A MATTER OF RHYME
A MATTER OF RHYME By Michael Grove
I might grab a piece of balsa wood
and learn me how to whittle,
or read the Times or Post
and try to solve the riddle.
I could be all out of sorts
and paint myself more skeptical,
but, I’d write of darkening days
then chuck it in the trash receptacle.
I could throw away my values,
become a black and white stool pigeon,
and concentrate my efforts
on politics and religion,
where there used to be a bolder line,
and once, no line at all.
Now, I stand in line for everything,
I stumble but don’t fall.
I might rise above the clatter
seeking answers from above.
But, then I’d only write of things
like forgiveness and love.
That soothes me much like music.
So peaceful and sublime,
Let me piece it all together.
It’s just a matter of rhyme.
January 5th, 2013 at 10:40 AM
My kind of resolutions!
Congratulations, Kate and Michael!
January 5th, 2013 at 11:22 AM
Well done, Kate and Michael!
January 5th, 2013 at 11:45 AM
Congratulations, both. Kate, as always your liveliness and love of fun rise in this romp of play and I loved it. And Mike, you’re always a corker when you begin to play with words like these, so in the end what can I say. Except, of course, that you’ve done it again.
Keep these resolutions in mind. Like all, they could always come back to haunt ya. LOL
January 5th, 2013 at 11:49 AM
Oh, dear Marie Marie! I am touched and delighted to be offered your bloom… and congratulations to Michael, too, from one rhymer to another. I had made a very quietly whispered resolution to myself to write and post poems to your prompts this year, and your choice today is, of course, awfully encouraging. I will endeavor to remain full of it for the rest of the year–thank you, thank you.
Kate
January 5th, 2013 at 12:17 PM
Oh, these are so wonderful and the perfect read on a day like today. Thank you both very much for writing these and congratulations on your well-deserved beautiful blooms!!
’s
January 5th, 2013 at 1:23 PM
Great Choices, Congratulations! Both of these poems are outstanding!
January 5th, 2013 at 1:38 PM
Congrats to Kate and Michael. A great way to end/begin the old/new year.
For those interested, the FLASHY FICTION (http://flashyfiction.blogspot.com/) site is getting updated and upgraded. We hope to expand our base in much the same way that POETIC BLOOMINGS has grown.
Check out the NEW 411 at http://flashyfiction.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-new-411-update.html
Remember, everyone has a little story to tell…
January 5th, 2013 at 2:04 PM
How to make your New Year’s Resolutions last.
I got an email the other day it concerned my resolutions
which overcame perennial problems with some original solutions.
Just one among so many posts that blur the page like locust
a single subject line somehow stood out and eerily began to focus.
“Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Last” it piqued my guilty conscience
Until I read it another way and was awestruck by its brilliance.
All these years I’ve done it wrong; my method was the worst
by making my yearly resolutions on January first.
Why not last, as the email suggests, on the last day of the year.
By December thirty first in hindsight my resolve is much less unclear.
From now on I’m taking this great advice with a tradition I can sustain
I’m making my yearly resolutions last, and I’ll never fail again.
Successfully yours
KP
January 5th, 2013 at 2:11 PM
These are so refreshing considering the serious nature of the topic of resolutions. Well done, Kate and Michael.
January 5th, 2013 at 2:12 PM
January 5th, 2013 at 2:48 PM
both of these make me smile and think of what I can do – what I don’t plan and what I enjoy – this site and all the rhyme
January 5th, 2013 at 7:01 PM
Both are excellent picks! My kind of resolutions, too. Great way to start off the new year — with smiles!
January 5th, 2013 at 8:58 PM
Excellent choices – very new to your work Kate but what a wonderful intro …glorious rhyming resolution poem. And Michael, you have outdone yourself – a bouquet for you to start the year. Well done thou good and faithful gardeners – what an exciting and full year you’ve put in,Walt and Marie Elena – bouquets upon bouquets should be heaped upon both of you – in celebration and gratitude. Thank you as ever for being there always and for being who you are.
January 5th, 2013 at 9:56 PM
Both are so much fun to read and leave me smiling. Bravo!
January 6th, 2013 at 7:07 AM
The last line of Kate’s (Hey… I mostly just plan to keep livin’.
) and the last stanza of Mike’s are a perfect recipe for that living.
January 6th, 2013 at 7:30 PM
Thank You Everyone for the comments and compliments. It is such an honor to receive a beautiful bloom. I love being in the company of all of the great poets here at Poetic Bloomings !!!
January 7th, 2013 at 12:02 PM
Thanks, everyone. It’s lovely to be here, and you’re all so kind.