New Year Resolutions Poem by Jim Yerman

My New Years resolutions were never anything to write home about
they usually involved losing weight, giving up smoking…you know…the traditional route

But I have never smoked and on most days I am happy with my weight
so a new list of resolutions it behooves me to create:

I resolve to tread a little softer, to walk barefoot on the Earth
to remind myself every animal,
every little thing that grows
every creation has its worth.

I resolve to walk a little slower…no matter how fast time moves around me
to find the joy and beauty and the wonder in all things that surround me.

I resolve to watch a few more sunsets, more waterfalls…
to watch a few more rivers flow
and to be a little kinder to those I do not know.

I resolve to be a little quieter…to while more time away
to listen to the birds, the trees, the wind…
and to what other people have to say.

I resolve to sing
to dance
to smile
to laugh a little more
to be a better person this year than I was the year before…

Hey, who knows if I can fulfill these resolutions…
these new guidelines I'm invoking
I'll have more time to gain some weight…
perhaps I'll take up smoking.