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Friday, December 30, 2011

Mary's Mixed Bag




Hi Toads, 
This is my first Friday Mary's Mixed Bag prompt; and I think I am going to enjoy this.  I hope you will too. I love writing, and I love inspiring others to write.   Let's have fun!

As we are very close to the end of the year, I have chosen this as my first Mixed Bag challenge:

 "Ring out the Old, ring in the New." 

These are words from the poem "In Memoriam" by Alfred Lord Tennyson.  The poem in its entirety can be found here:  In Memoriam.

Go with the words wherever they take you, or if you'd like a few more suggestions: 

Think about what 'old' you would like to ring out or what 'old' you are sad to leave behind at the end of this year.  Think about what 'new' you'd like to welcome into your life in 2012.  What 'new' do you anticipate?

Another thought: Contemplate bells ringing.  Listen carefully.  Are they wedding bells?  Sleigh bells?  Or?    Write about them.  (After all, Edgar Allan Poe did!)


Think about yourself somewhat like the Roman two-faced god Janus who is associated with transitions, as he looks both forward and backward and for whom the month of January was named.  What thoughts come to your mind as you stand on the border between 2011 and 2012, looking both at the past (old) and the future (new)?

 I will close with this quote by  Bill Vaughan:   "An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in.  A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. "   Food for thought, isn't it?

I will visit each of your poems as you post the links, using Mr. Linky below.  I also hope that each of you who posts a link will visit as many other links as possible, as we all love visits.

Happy New Year, Everyone.





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22 comments:

  1. Susie ClevengerDecember 30, 2011 at 2:26 AM

    Happy New Year!! Hoping it is a blessed year for us all!!!

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  2. MaryDecember 30, 2011 at 7:05 AM

    Just wrote to my own prompt last night. Had NO idea what would come to my mind after I came up with it; that is the beauty of prompts, I think...they toy with your mind until you come up with something!

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  3. Janet MartinDecember 30, 2011 at 7:40 AM

    Mary, this is the year I discovered the thrill of prompts! This is the year I 'met' you and many other wonderful poets. Next year brims with wonder. No matter what it holds in what we dimly label 'good' and 'bad' it is the ink in a poets pen.

    Happy New Year, all.

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  4. Mary B. MansfieldDecember 30, 2011 at 7:52 AM

    Great prompt, Mary! It really fits the theme much of my writing has been taking lately. Will be back later with a link. Happy New Year everyone!

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  5. MargaretDecember 30, 2011 at 8:24 AM

    This was fun and I even forced my self to rhyme a bit. Thank you and I look forward to participating often in 2012!

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  6. GraceDecember 30, 2011 at 8:33 AM

    Happy New year everyone ~

    Cheers ~

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  7. Ostensible TruthDecember 30, 2011 at 8:50 AM

    a great prompt Mary - out with the old in with the new indeed, I think I'd be the pessimist counting down to make sure the old year has gone haha - great choice of quotes and images too! shall check out the links

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  8. Laurie KolpDecember 30, 2011 at 9:12 AM

    So glad to see you sharing Fridays here, Mary! I'll get to this later this afternoon as I have an obligation this morning.

    Happy New Year to all of you!

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  9. Maude LynnDecember 30, 2011 at 9:38 AM

    How odd! I wrote about Bells yesterday. Guess I'll link it up!

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  10. Kerry O'ConnorDecember 30, 2011 at 9:54 AM

    Thanks for becoming part of our creative team on RT, Mary. I look forward to many interesting ideas popping out of your mixed bag.

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  11. MarianDecember 30, 2011 at 10:44 AM

    Mary, I wrote this earlier in the week but it was made for this prompt. I'm still thinking about leaving this year behind so I'll work on a new one, too, and link if it comes. Thank you!

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  12. Mary B. MansfieldDecember 30, 2011 at 11:34 AM

    Once again I'm amazed at the interesting direction my mind took in response to a prompt. Definitely a light-hearted take on the subject!

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  13. EllaDecember 30, 2011 at 1:18 PM

    What a wonderful way to ring in the New Year...
    Off to ponder this prompt! Thanks Mary~

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  14. Laurie KolpDecember 30, 2011 at 1:55 PM

    OK... finally got to it. Thanks again.

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  15. FireblossomDecember 30, 2011 at 3:31 PM

    My "Rx" poem was supposed to be for this, but it went elsewhere. I'll try to do something later that is better suited for this challenge.

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  16. cosmos camiDecember 30, 2011 at 3:50 PM

    Thanks for the prompt!

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  17. Sherry Blue SkyDecember 30, 2011 at 4:01 PM

    Great prompt, Mary. Am waiting for a thought to alight on my brain.......

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  18. DaydreamertooDecember 31, 2011 at 7:31 AM

    Interesting prompt Mary. Well done!
    Happy new year to you and to everyone here a. toads/

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  19. PeggyDecember 31, 2011 at 12:38 PM

    Glad to see Mary's Mixed Bag!! I am a little late with this but posted it anyway. I liked being educated about Janus as I had only a vague idea about his place in mythology before. Happy New Year to all the cyberpoets!

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  20. Doctor FTSEJanuary 1, 2012 at 1:47 PM

    "The Bells! The Bells!" (Victor Hugo, 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame.)
    Very timely prompt, Mary. Thank you.

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  21. EllaJanuary 3, 2012 at 9:19 PM

    Great prompt Mary! Sorry, I'm so late to the party :D

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  22. AnonymousJanuary 5, 2012 at 3:22 PM

    Took me long enough to find my muse for this but thank you for a great prompt!

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