A note about this poem:
During the November Holiday Shop Hop at Central Creatives Co-Work of Art, I invited visitors and shoppers to write on an index card one hope they had for the new year and then clip the card to string I had hanging around the entrance to my studio. I explained that these would then be combined to create a community poem. This was the first in-person poem I’d facilitated since the Covid lockdown began in 2020.
Most people were skeptical at first, until I explained that they only had to write one hope they had for the new year – the rest of the poem would work itself out. I added that they shouldn’t try to be funny and don’t overthink it. I loved watching people’s faces when they finally grasped the concept; even the most resistant took time to jot down a thought and quietly clip it up with the rest of the cards.
Well, here’s what you all came up with!
Every contribution was included: 37 cards, 37 lines, from all ages, sorted into hopes, frustrations, and positive intentions for the coming year. The only changes I made were to capitalization and punctuation. Nothing else was changed to force it to fit. This is what is is, and that’s what it is supposed to be.
My hope for the new year is that you know that you are born of the heavens and stardust courses through your veins. May you be a willing portal for creativity, innovation, and community in 2022. xo
At the end of this post, you can read more about the Exquisite Collaboration Project, and find links to past collaborative poems.
And now, the poem….
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HOPE FOR THE NEW YEAR 2022
My hope is that Melania and Ivanka can bury the hatchet since they’ll be roommates at the crowbar hotel.
I hope that empathy find its way back into the hearts of the people,
for everyone to be treated equally,
hoping that people can be kind to each other and respect one another again.
More common sense.
Less division.
Will it get better?
For the new year, I want Covid 19 dead.
Celebrate the small things:
Happy, healthy family
Beautiful clouds
Rock hunting Lake Ontario by moonlight
Finding joy in my art
Healthy new granddaughter; a peaceful, loving community; an end to the division in our country.
I hope my fantasy football team wins.
To discover my purpose and live it every day,
I want a cat.
I would like to stop putting things off until tomorrow,
find more “heart” in all I do.
I hope for improved health and well being for all of my loved ones and a bright future for all.
My hope is to find my soul-mate in 2022.
My sister and I have a better relationship.
More open hearts, ease,
more sunshine, less pain.
Joy and self love!
Finding hope again.
My hope is for the humans to treat other humans equally,
build bridges to end these divides,
find more gratitude,
joy and peace, contentment,
the end of Covid worldwide.
I hope that I will be successful in going through the college process.
I hope my future explodes like a supernova, so bright!
To take a journey, enjoy the adventure and have a new story to share,
to be happy without others,
you are exactly where you’re supposed to be right now. You can only compare yourself with yourself.
Hoping that the world heals, in as many ways as possible.
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THE POETS, in no particular order:
Laurie Dobson
Chris Hipps
Lynne
Ella Eckert
Amy Krecker
Nancy@scavengedthoughts
Joan R.D.
Christina G
Wendy Kaiser
Connie Gaylord
Marilyn
Sue Anulis
Remi
Marcella
Mark Groaning
Beth
Maxwell M Clement
Alex Eckert
Toto
Lisa
and those contributors who wished to remain Anonymous
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THE PAINTING
The method I use to paint requires a lot of mess, some experimentation, and then patience to let the paint do its own thing and let the images or message reveal itself in its own good time. This is one of my new paintings. It started as a giant mess – I mean, it was a disaster – and I was going just to scrape the canvas and start over. But I was tired and decided to leave it overnight and deal with it in the morning. I was delighted when I checked on it – the colors had settled and images started to emerge. It’s exactly the process we used in this poem – I took what we had and let it reveal itself when it was ready..
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This Exquisite Collaboration Project is based on the Exquisite Corpse, a technique created by Surrealists in the early 1900s, in which participants add to a work with no one seeing what the other participants contributed. My goal is to encourage non-writers and artists to embrace their creative selves in a safe, supportive, “you can’t fail” environment. What began as a way to maintain some sort of connection with other people during the early days of the Covid lockdown has continued to unite strangers from around the world in creative collaboration.
Click here to read the series of Exquisite Poems done during the Covid lockdown along with other collaborative projects, and to find the links to the current prompt so you can join in the fun.
To learn more about my workshops, visit my website.
Notes From The Funny Farm 