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Resolution

01/01/2016 By Ellen Beals Leave a Comment

Resolution

I’m going to pink
therapy. Later, I’ll see
about red care. I’m going
to trim all my ego’s hangnails
and perfume that space
above the soft
palate, just behind my uvula.

I’m going to have
all the hackles
on my spine aligned
and I’ve made an appointment
to have each problem plucked
from that very
last nerve.

And just temporarily, to see
whether I’d like it,
I’m having my synapses dyed
a pleasant color, robin’s
egg or eggplant.
And just maybe,
I have those spaces tucked
between my big and first toes.

I’ll flavor the crook
of my arm and massage
the glands at the folds
of my legs. I’ll dip
the ends of my hair
in chocolate.

For once,
just once,
I’m going to get in shape.

© Ellen Wade Beals, 2000

This poem was first published in Ariel (XIX),  a publication of Triton College, which was edited by Mellynne Dickason and Virginia Brackett;  Maureen Seaton served as a judge that year.

Resolution © Ellen Wade Beals, 2016
Resolution © Ellen Wade Beals, 2016

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: absurd, Ariel, Chicago, Ellen Wade Beals, Maureen Seaton, New Year's, New Year's resolution, Photography, Poetry, Resolution, Solace, Solace in So Many Words, Triton College, Weighed Words

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