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Friday, January 3, 2020

New Year's Day Thoughts

My thinking exploded on New Year's Day Mass when the priest decided to end his homily with a poem, In Memoriam, (Ring out, wild bells) by Alfred Lord Tennyson. This beautiful elegy provided time for me to contemplate about the old year and the new one.


In Memoriam, (Ring out, wild bells)

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Continue reading the poem here.

The church fell silent after the poem ended and I was filled with the positives of what can be in 2020. When I returned home, I reread the poem and found this beautiful song that lifts Tennyson's words. When I hear the church bells ringing in the future I will think of Tennyson's poem that inspired me to write about my one word 2020, balance here.




I plan on keeping a healthy assortment of positivity around me to balance my lifestyle. Will you join me in the one word quest? For the time being, I will follow the Poetry Friday Roundup road to  Carol Wilcox's blog site. Our host has an inspirational poem by Maya Angelou that makes me wonder if this was a tribute to the use of one word to guide the yearly journey.

19 comments:

  1. Wow. I read this poem slowly and with purpose...and, I can only imagine hearing it in church. It's perfect. Perfect for today! And, it's so positive...so full of possibility. Thank you for sharing that special moment with us. And, I look forward to your relationship with balance. It's a fun word with lots of angles you can play with and learn from. Safe journeys throughout January. Share news when you can and enjoy those precious little ones.

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    1. Linda, I hope to learn from my OLW so that I can create a more calm, less frenetic pace. Life seems to be filled with waiting right now: for the new baby, for a new move to a new area, and for positivity to flow with those around me. Thank you for our wonderful talk.

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  2. Your poem is beautiful, Carol. I love the line "where dangling dreams float free." My OLW for 2020 is ASTONISH inspired by Mary Oliver. I want to be open to noticing a world full of astonishing things and tell about them.

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    1. It was a surprise to see you here, Rose. Thank you for joining me and many inspired wishes for your OLW to surprise and astonish you each day of 2020.

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  3. What a beautiful poem you wrote in response to the Tennyson 'bells'. I find your own ringing to be a positive beginning to this new year, Carol, "discard the hate of old" is compelling for us all. Wishing you the happiest of new year beginnings!

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    1. There is so much confusion and disharmony in the world that it is important to ring in the new year with positivity, faith, and hope, Linda. Thank you for your comments that mean so much to me as we grow as friends. May your weekend be filled with love.

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  4. Carol, thanks for sharing such a beautiful and calming reflection, much needed on such a crazy day. I especially love the song version of this poem! Wishing you lots and lots of balance in 2020!

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    1. Thanks for the good wishes, Carol. I'm on a precipice trying to balance the many pieces of life. Thank goodness for my yoga class today that will allow my breath to slow day and savor the day.

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  5. The singer's voice is beautiful - I knew the poem, but to hear it sung is something else! Thank you for sharing this and your response: 'let truth triumph' indeed.

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  6. This poem resonates (like the sound of bells) especially strongly in these times.

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    1. Amazing that the poem was introduced during the homily at Mass. As the priest said: Poetry says so much in so little a space.

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  7. This is one of my husband's favorites. And I love the singer's rendition. Thank you for sharing.

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  8. This stanza is especially fitting for the times we live in:

    Ring out false pride in place and blood,
    The civic slander and the spite;
    Ring in the love of truth and right,
    Ring in the common love of good.

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    1. Absolutely, Laura. I thought this poem was fitting and was so surprised when it was used in the homily.

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  9. "Let truth triumph in tales untold" Yes and then some! Beautiful post here and your earlier one on "Balance is also." Wishing you sweet tidings on your journey of balance this year Carol!

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  10. I love both these Ringing poems, Carol. That hope in the gray sky especially spoke to me this morning.

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