i am running into a new year
and the old years blow back
like a wind
that i catch in my hair
like strong fingers like
all my old promises and
it will be hard to let go
of what i said to myself
about myself
when i was sixteen and
twentysix and thirtysix
even thirtysix but
i am running into a new year
and i beg what i love and
i leave to forgive me
—Lucille Clifton, Good Woman: Poems and A Memoir 1969-1980
How are you doing? What have you eaten? What’s on your mind?
Happy to be back with you.
This last bit:
i am running into a new year
and i beg what i love and
i leave to forgive me
can be thought about in such a variety of ways and I have only been looking at this poem for a few moments.
Striking.
Hi Susan,
Certainly! I read it almost every year around this time, and it still feels layered and up to however I need to interpret it during that time.
Happy New Year! Thank you for being here.
x