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Friday, January 20, 2023

De-Christmasing My House

I am in the last stages of "de-Christmasing" my house and I can feel the creativity draining. Maybe it is because I just finished three days of stretching, pumping, and yoga. My muscles are sore. I am tired and it is difficult to look at one mess after another in the different rooms of the house. Below is a sample of what I mean. This messy table is not as cluttered as other spaces but it still is annoying, especially since we are moving into the latter part of January now. 

I ponder what to do. Maybe I should laugh, not cry, as an option. This would help me to not stare at the mess. I need a spark of joy! I know - take a simple be and breath moment. Add a few additional moments by looking through my blog drafts and finding just one that fits my mood. Ah, yes, I have been waiting to write a triolet for months but keep shying away from the different steps in the format.

What is a triolet? It is an eight-line poem (or stanza) with a rhyme scheme of ABaAabAB: The first line is repeated in the fourth and seventh lines and the second line is also the last line (the capital letters indicate repeating lines). I scour the internet looking for a cheat sheet that tells me what to do, line by line. Voila, I found it. 

  1.  1. The first line (A)
  2. 2. The second line (B)
  3. 3. The third line rhymes with the first (a)
  4. 4. Repeat the first line (A)
  5. 5. The fifth line rhymes with the first (a)
  6. 6. The sixth line rhymes with the second line (b)
  7. 7. Repeat the first line (A)
  8. 8. Repeat the second line (B)

The next step is to look inside my winter decoration box sitting in the dining room for artifacts that would spark a thought. I want to write a poem that is light-hearted and humorous. A few hours later, some thoughts come to mind.  I'm not a funny person by nature but I made an attempt. The joke's on me.

De-Christmasing is my current chore,
not taken lightly by the designer.
Take down, and or, add some more.
De-Christmasing is my current chore.
Sometimes, I think it's quite a bore
because there's no willing partaker.
De-Christmasing is my current chore,
not taken lightly by the creator.
©CVarsalona, 2023


🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲

I look up at the clock and realize it is past midnight and officially Poetry Friday. A new poet friend, children's book author, and fabulous photographer, Marcie Flinchum Atkins offers the roundup on her blog. Click here to see more than a dozen poets who add their posts on the link-up page. Today, Marcie offers another one of her haiku moments and her book, Wait, Rest, Pause - Dormancy in Nature. Enjoy reading poetry!


NOTE

I'm off to Disney World where the family will share the magic and wonder of an enchanted land, the Magic Kingdom followed by a cruise on the new ship, The Wish. We have waited patiently for the little grandgirls to be old enough to enjoy Disney World. I have a post ready for next Friday since it will be the end of the month with a new challenge offered by the Poetry Sisters. I just have to decide the logistics of how to send my post before the cruise begins on Friday. My responses to other blogs will be late but I look forward to all poetic goodness as I will for this week's Poetry Friday. 


I am happy to note that Bridget Magee, poet, editor, publisher, and teacher debuted her newest poetry anthology, Two Truths and a Fib Poetry Anthology, on January 1st. Check out Bridget's Facebook page to follow the Two Truths and a Fib-o-Rama where you can get acquainted with the poets whose poems are included in the book. My dedicated place in the Fib-O-Rama is coming soon. I am grateful to Bridget for her amazing work on this anthology. The book is filled with wonderful poems and a mystery to solve on what are the truths and the fib in each author's bio. Today, Margaret Simon is showcased.

15 comments:

  1. Each year I put out less and less of my Christmas decor just for the very reason that the clean up is always my chore. I like how you used this chore to create a triolet. Have a wonderful trip to Disney. I'm glad you've been exercising because it's the kind of trip where you will need all your energy.

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  2. You tried a triolet! Now that you have the hang of it, you might find a few on your vacation. I hope you have fun.

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  3. Your poem delightfully captures the dreaded chore of de-Christmasing. (I didn't put up a tree this year -- didn't want to fight the new dog OR take it down) so there was a little less. Enjoy Disney and the cruise with your family!

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  4. A triolet as the tree se fue! ("Se fue" is Spanish for "left.") You got a nice poem out of your task, Carol.

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  5. Have a wonderful time! Your De-Christmassing poem is spot on. Isn't the triolet fun? I've become addicted for sure.

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  6. I'm with you on this: "there's no willing partaker." However, we both got poems (albeit very different) out of the task!

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  7. Glad you were able to create a nice triolet despite the exhausting task of de-Christmasing. I've been putting out fewer things each year (and rotating things), which makes it feel more manageable to me. ~ Jama P.S. Enjoy Disney World!!!

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  8. De-Christmasing is so stressful. Enjoy your trip!!!

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  9. Much more fun to put up than take down. I did do less this year because of Carter's graduation mid-December, so it wasn't so hard. Your triolet should be packed away for next year, Carol, reminding. . . Have a special time at Disney World. I've been there a bunch & I think it's more walking than when I went on hikes with students, but. . . still fun!

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  10. Carol, I recall in the run-up to the holiday your joy and excitement in preparing your house. I made a mental note, then shared with my husband, we will need to "up our game" now that we have grandchildren - I want them to feel all the sights and smells and sounds of Thanksgiving and Christmas on their future visits (our one grandchild is 5 mos old). Now, I'm giggling at the groaning I hear and read... I'm thinking it might be fun (for you? for us reading?) to re-print snippets of then-and-now. Have a GREAT TIME on the cruise!

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  11. Hooray for sticking with the triolet, and I love your off-duty elves, too. Hope you have a fabulous time at Disney. We grew up in Florida, but we never loved WDW as much as when we went with our girls when they were small. Magical! xo

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  12. Wow, that's a great reward for your de-Christmasing work! Have a blast! And thanks for the triolet! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com

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  13. I hear you on the de-Christmasing front - ha! We celebrated a lovely Christmas at our (soon-to-be-permanent) house in the hills across the state, with the intention of taking everything down two weeks later on our next planned trip. But that trip got detoured because my car died just as we were leaving town. Then I thought I'd get things put away a week ago on a crazy quick trip to go take a load of stuff. It was cold and rainy and I had some unexpected house issues to deal with, so no-go then. Only got outside decorations brought indoors. BUT - I have hope for this coming weekend when we're there. ;0) Wishing you & yours a FABULOUS getaway!

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  14. Fun Holiday poem Carol, glad you are taking leave for perhaps all your "De-Christmasing" will be out of sight and perhaps out of mind… Wishing you and family wonderful time in Disney World and your following cruise, all sounds lovely!

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  15. Have a wonderful trip, Carol! You've earned it after all of your de-Christmasing work.

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