Moonshine and Lemon

A time comes when, in the expression of our dearest wishes, we shall say not that we want to wage wars against what is ugly, or that we want to judge the actions of others or even those of our own, but that we shall affirm everything, say 'Yes to life as a total economy of the whole', as Nietzsche wrote. It is a common sentiment to make resolutions on New Year's Day even though we secretly know we will hear 'the clean crack of our promises breaking'. Kim Addonizio's poem 'New Year's Day' is refreshing in that it refuses to be sucked into an emotional fantasy of self-pitying reflection and grand schemes of resolving the past or weaving the future, even if at times it cannot resist images of redemption. The rain this morning falls on the last of the snow and will wash it away. I can smell the grass again, and the torn leaves being eased down into the mud. The few loves I’ve been allowed to keep are still sleeping on the...