Spring Cleaning
It’s that time of the year when I want to come clean
and turn into a virtual sorting machine.
I’m emptying closets and clearing out shelves.
Disposing of all of my former used selves.
Keeping the best of me. Tossing the worn.
Keeping the new me that’s daily reborn
and discarding the jaded, the bored and forlorn.
I’m renouncing old habits and starting anew.
I’m not limping along in my regular queue
of things to accomplish and deeds I must do,
and I’m making a list of things I’ll eschew—
things that inevitably make me blue—
politics, violence, things all askew
that have turned our whole planet into a zoo.
I’m making an outline to use as a guide
with all the things that I’ve certified
will make my life better and straighten it out.
They’ll make me happier, without a doubt.
Troublesome people I’m going to avoid.
Life is too short to spend it annoyed.
What is life for if not to be enjoyed?
I’ll go on a diet and I’ll become svelt.
Shorten my hemlines and tighten my belt.
I’ll take all the tactics I’ve learned in this life
as daughter and student and girlfriend and wife
and put them together into a rich stew
of what I have vowed that I’m going to do.
Then tackle my life with this new retinue.
Or else I’ll stay home and not worry about
having a gorgeous body to flout.
I’ll cook puddings and pastries and share them with friends,
put on a few pounds without making amends.
Taking more time to stare at the birds.
I’ll do fewer shoulds and do more absurds—
cavort with my art and play with my words.
Consort with the dogs and cuddle the cats.
Issue fewer “No’s!” and give way more pats.
Since this is my life and I am the boss of it,
I’ll make a vow to get rid of the dross of it.
Clean out the dreads and stock up on the wants.
hang out at all of my favorite haunts,
believe what praise comes and ignore all the taunts.
Word prompts today are limp, outline, new, renounce and politics.
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 
This is a fun poem, and I like the rhyme scheme and the 7-line stanzas.
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Aha.. you noticed. How observant..Part of breaking the mold..well, planning to, at least…
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Oh no.. just noticed I switched from 5 line to 7 line stanzas. Must remedy that…
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Okay.. took care of it!
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Sounds exactly like what i’m doing these days! It feels really good to get rid of some of the clutter!
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Love this
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Beautiful and so cleverly structured.
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Thanks..just nudged it as I noticed my first stanza was only 5 lines instead of 7. Urgh.
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Poetry and math don’t always jive, do they?
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Thanks, Dolly. Gonna try to find your recipe for flat bread. I swear.. I messed up on the banana bread again. Made a huge recipe of three loaves. Used a quart of smashed bananas from my tree.. nuts and chocolate chips but they just tasted bland. Also, my new oven must not be calibrated correctly as I took them out 5 minutes early and they still got overly brown on the bottom. I had to trim the bottoms off. I think what I did wrong this time was that I used brown sugar instead of white and didn’t pack it down so the bread wasn’t sweet enough. I am just not a baker. What I did with one loaf was to cut the bottom off, turn it upside down and pierce the loaf with a fork and pour maple syrup over it, then sealed it with plastic wrap and left it overnight. It eventually seeped through and actually sweetened the loaf without getting soggy. I am getting very inventive with righting my wrongs, but I’m still disgusted that no matter what I do I always screw up with baking. I don’t do this with cooking–just a jinx at baking.
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It happens to everybody, Judy; we just don’t publish bloopers.
Here are a couple of flatbread recipes, and you can use regular flour which will make them so much fluffier:
https://koolkosherkitchen.wordpress.com/2020/02/09/i-give-you-roti-and-a-big-hug-3/
https://koolkosherkitchen.wordpress.com/2016/11/18/popalik-for-a-poor-orphan/
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Well “yo yo” make up your mind, are you going to take it off or put it on~?
However, this is just the way I feel today, I can be a real jerk when it is past my nap time,,,
Kidding of course, I Like your poem Judy, though it borders on transgressive fiction; So will you be starting the Poemfone group of Lake Chapala~? If so you will need to count me out, because I do not know how to work a cell phone, talk funny, and what little I do know of rhyme is slime.
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Guess I’ll do what I’ve done my whole life and put it on and take it off and put it on and take it off.
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Well I had a solution for you some time back. But who am I to give advice~? I am like that old dog joke about being able to dish it out but can’t take it. However I did get it said in three line stanzas instead of seven and maybe you chose to ignore it, You can see it here:
https://mcouvillion.wordpress.com/2020/04/10/an-ode-to-judy/
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Your solution is to make peanut butter cookies? Okay.. but you didn’t give the recipe and I don’t like mine and remember, Diego ate the entire last three batches I made.
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Fun and real, both.
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Please, come visit me.
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Hi, Judy! Was shuffling through Wilhite family history stuff the other day looking for things my niece was asking for, and ran across my copy of “Prairie Moths” making me think about you and the other Dykstras. Could not find you on FB, but, did find you here! Hope you are doing well. It was great fun reacquainting with you and your sister at the family reunion some time ago. Would like to keep in touch!
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Nancy, I am on Facebook and my email is jubob2@hotmail.com. If the book is a little brown chapbook, it has been reprinted and is available on Amazon. You know that the photo in the back is of all of your uncles and your dad, right? Marion says he is the baby. Have you talked to him lately? I have been wanting so badly to go see him but impossible right now. Have been meaning to for years.
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Thanks for the email address. Yes, I talked to Uncle Marion a few days ago and we HAD planned to take a road trip early April to Oregon wineries, visiting him and other Wilhite relatives, etc., but, as you say, everything has changed. He will be 93 this year. Uncle Irv passed away about a month ago in Costa Rica just before his 100th birthday. My FB account is Nancy Wilhite Kueneman, so look me up and keep in touch. Are you in or out of the country at this time? And your sisters, are they healthy as well?
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Just saw this, Nancy. I am still in Mexico, where I’ve been for 19 years. I did so want to try to get up to see Marion but won’t happen for at least another year. Is he in good health? Patti is in Wyoming and Betty is in St. Paul–Eagan, actually. She is in a very advanced stage of Alzheimer’s. I’ll find you on FB.. xo J
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