Poetry Friday: Trying New Things and My One Little Word for 2018

Poetry Friday is hosted this week by Jan at Bookseedstudio!

A good friend of mine had this saying she used to cover up all sorts of conversational gaffes, memory lapses, and awkward moments: “I’ve been gone a long time.”

Lesson learned: Good ideas don’t always pan out.

While the idea of sharing a laptop with my husband to save money thrilled my frugal heart, it put my blogging heart on a starvation diet. The up side: Mark’s business is thriving in wonderful new ways that require him to work into the evening and be on the road more than before. The downside: we are not sharing the laptop. It’s his. (And we are saving for one for me!)

During my absence from my blog, I thought about it a lot. I realized that I often stressed about my Poetry Friday posts because I wanted to have the exact right photo/visual element to go with my photo.

Lesson learned: Perfection is an illusion that prevents me from participating.

This week I’m trying something new: a standard layout for short poems. Ideally it will make posting easier, and the entire poem will be visible on the blog’s main page without having to click into each post. Eventually, my blog may look like a bulletin board of poems and photos. Or, this plan may not pan out either. But I’m trying.

Some other stuff I’ve been meddling in since November when I last posted: family visits, quilt projects, bullet journaling, audiobooks, decluttering, puttering, and pondering. In my pondering I realized how much I enjoy the Poetry Friday community, and how much I love your enthusiasm, helpfulness, and support.

In response to the many kind comments about my flamingo poem, I want you to know was inspired by Wonderopolis, a site I learned about from a PF post — likely one by Diane Mayr! Science has shown how/why flamingos stand on one leg, but it’s not the camouflage theory I wrote about. I’m so glad you liked that poem!

My One Little World for 2018 is Listen. A comment from Margaret Simon last year about the concepts of doing vs. being prompted me to choose a word about being open to God, to others, to my instincts, and to focus less on what I check off my to-do list and more on living. Though you know how it thrills my soul to check stuff off my list.

Happy New Year, friends! May it be filled with joy and learning!

Author: Keri

23 thoughts on “Poetry Friday: Trying New Things and My One Little Word for 2018

  1. Love your OLW. I have been struggling with mine this year, but finally decided on Light. There are so many possibilities on how to apply it. I also appreciate your lesson learned- Perfection is an illusion that prevents me from participating. I am going to be sharing that line and I will credit you?. Thanks, Keri

  2. I really, really struggle with expectations – namely the expectations I place on myself. I want everything to be perfect, to be the best, but of course, life isn’t like that, is it? There’s beauty in imperfection, though it sometimes takes a while to find it! 🙂

    1. I have tried to make “Done is better than perfect” my motto in many areas, but the struggle is real!

  3. Nature’s ornament is lovely, except on my windshield when I’m in a hurry!
    “Listen” is a brilliant OLW. If we don’t listen, who knows what we’ll miss?
    I hope you get a laptop soon! Your bulletin board plan sounds good.

    1. Frosted windshields happen so rarely in my world it’s easier to appreciate their beauty. 🙂

  4. Your haiku glows–lovely! I like crossing things off a list too, but I’ve accepted the fact that I can’t do everything so I try to pick out what’s important. I remember your flamingo poem and beautiful image–thanks for the fascinating article about why they stand on one leg. Have fun with your OLW, “Listen” that’s a good one.

    1. Being selective is SO important! There is always plenty to do. Fellow poet Tabatha Yeatts encouraged me at once point last year to not give up what feeds my soul, and that has been so inspiring to me!

  5. Welcome back Kerrie. I for one have missed you.
    I’m glad you’re planning to stress less and listen more – something we should all do. I tend to stress a bit about PF too, wanting just the right poem and topic to come along before I start my post.

    1. Thanks, Sally! I have enjoyed so many of your posts — whatever you are doing, don’t stop. 🙂

  6. Welcome back! You haiku is right on for the weather we are having today. Since I don’t have anywhere I have to go, I will try to view the ice as ornaments (and wish for safe travels for those who have to brave the slick roads). Listen was my word for last year. It is something I’m still trying to practice.

    1. I’m tardy in commenting, but we are having a snow day in MS!! The ice only feels ornamental from inside the house today!

  7. I have wondered where you’ve been and now I know that you’ve been busy, and probably “listening” to many things, including what works for you. I love “nature’s ornaments”, the beauty we sometimes miss in winter.

    1. I am delighted that both you and Linda have chosen Listen as well! That is good omen for a fine year!

  8. What a sincere post. It’s so nice to see you. I love your olw. It was mine a couple of years ago and I really think it shaped my life. I am a fan of a short, sharp poem. I look forward to visiting your bulletin board and knowing you are clicking away on your own lap top…..your creativity unfettered by having to share technology.

  9. Welcome back! We missed you! Thank you for being vulnerable and sharing your back story. We can learn so much from each other–your lessons learned can be signposts for other travelers!

  10. Welcome back, Keri – Having finally gotten over to April’s post and then here, I am feeling refreshed by all this honesty and welcoming invitations to be our imperfectly fine selves. I thought of you just a short while ago, as I was moving some things around and still have some of a beeswax candle from a former poem swap! I always think of you when I eat honey or encounter bees. Glad to be part of your poetry-hive! Happy 2018.

    1. How lovely! So many folks do not have positive feelings when they encounter bees. 🙂 Doesn’t “Our Imperfectly Fine Selves” sound like a great name for a band, or a band of poets, or a critique group?! I like it!

  11. My hubby and I could never, never, never share a computer again. We did for a few years, long ago, but I ended up feeling like an undeserving suppliant. When he was on, that was the best time for me to be on. It wasn’t good for us. I hope you get your own computer soon. Or maybe you can use the computers at your local library. 🙂

    1. I love that mental picture, of me begging him for permission to use the computer! And, it’s nice to know someone else tried it and had the same experience!

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