Renewal

 

What do you see when you think of renewal?

 

Father Time and baby on New Year’s Eve,

The hard resolution you strive to achieve,

 

In tropical climes, after drought, falling rain,

In northern climes, leaves appearing again,

 

When the power goes out, a brilliant sunrise,

Finding lost glasses when you open your eyes,

 

Invigorating hike, sweat-cleansing shower,

Long day of gardening, cocktail hour,

 

Spinach and kale salad, waxed dental floss,

Creative breakthrough, a raise from your boss,

 

Return to school, resurfaced bikeway,

Fresh cup of coffee, petit déjeuner.

 

Notice that all these renewals are dual —

 

Past & present,

Old rut & new habit,

 

Dry & wet,

Dormant & verdant,

 

Dark & light,

Misplaced & retrieved,

 

Trek & wash,

Shovel & appease,

 

Food & health,

Insight & increase,

 

Smart & spry,

Awake & unique.

 

When you think renewal, think ampersand,

The fulcrum of progress since writing began.

 

Forward-looking, open-ended, every size,

Ampersand is metaphor for re-energize.

 

 

“Renewal” ©2018 Nancy Upper

Ampersand designed by Shi-Min Chin in 2010 for Font Aid IV: Coming Together, a collaborative font created by the Society of Typographic Afficionados (SOTA) to benefit victims of the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

 

 

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