I was reading some articles on NPR about favorite poems, best poems, etc. of the last year and all I could think about was that I hadn’t read any of those poems and in several cases hadn’t even heard of the poets. I do enjoy poetry but it was sort of absent a lot in my life last year, especially towards the end of the year.

So after reading those articles it was a good motivation to go to some of my favorite web sites to read poetry – Poets and Poetry Foundation. I spent a good part of this evening reading some winter poems and here’s one I really liked:

Winter Trees by William Carlos Williams
All the complicated details
of the attiring and
the disattiring are completed!
A liquid moon
moves gently among
the long branches.
Thus having prepared their buds
against a sure winter
the wise trees
stand sleeping in the cold.

I especially like the last part. Can’t you just picture that? I hope you enjoyed reading this poem. If you’ve read a great poem or discovered a new poet lately please share, I’d love to bring more poetry in my life.

“The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time.” ~ Friedrich Nietzche

While I was telling about the books I got over Christmas I can’t believe I totally forgot to mention a few other very important books. Goodness.

One of my aunts got me two Isabel Allende books (she knows I’m a fan). The first one is Ines del Alma Mia, which I’ve read in English but I certainly don’t mind reading it in it’s original language. The other book is De Amor y de Sombra which is Of Love and Shadows.

My husband also got me two books (I can always count on him for some reading material) but this year I was quite surprised by the choices: Jewelry: Projects to Practice and Inspire and The New Encyclopedia of Jewelry-Making Techniques. You are probably wondering if I make jewelry – no, I do not but it looks like I soon will. Along with the books he signed me up for a course of jewelry making. Fun stuff to look forward to in several weeks!

I’ve told you I don’t make New Year’s resolutions but one thing I’m most hopeful about this year is getting back to the things (reading, crafting, etc.) that I love. My job can be hectic (I’m in HR in a healthcare setting) but after I leave the office I need to remember that it’s time for me and taking care of myself.

And, on that note, I’m off to bed with the Bargain Books catalog that just arrived in the mail today. I haven’t looked through one of these in a while. Let’s see what treasures I might find.