1. Read the poem 

2. Do your own reflection on it, noting what it inspires in you

3. Feel free to use your own reflection as your prompt or…

4. Use the selection of prompts below the poem

5. Pick one that inspires you and write (feel free to use only one or write several poems using different prompts) or…

6. Don’t use any of the provided prompts and follow your inspiration from wherever it comes

Happy Feet

I have watched the dancers 
move with a grace 
I do not believe belongs to me. 

It takes a drink 
and a rock song 
that does not require standard steps 
before I get happy feet. 

I blame it on a gimp leg.

 But the real reason 
lies in the heart of George Bailey 
who watched the chipping away 
of his dreams and desires 
over the years 
until he had none 
burdened with responsibility 
for the world in which
he grew up. 

We get only glimpses 
of his tortured soul 
while his selfless purity 
shines more brightly 
than any human I have known, 
especially myself. 

No angel comes to show me 
the effect of my absence. 
No deaths prevented, 
no careers saved, 
no towns that would otherwise 
sink into moral depravity.

George returns from tragedy 
to embrace every particle of his life 
down to the broken knob on the stairwell.

But I do not want to wait 
for tragedy before
I learn to embrace life.
I want to dance 
with my own hobbled grace 
even if before judging eyes. 
Let them carry the curse 
of the broken knob 
while angels earn their wings 
on happy feet.

Inspired by the classic movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, starring Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey)

Note: Next Read Around is January 8, 2021
at 4:00 PM PST

My Thoughts

Whether or not you are a believer in Christmas, the “yuletide season” holds sway over much of the Western world, at the very least, in shopping and gifting and gathering together. It has spawned a whole genre of movies, which serve not only as uplifting stories, but as special treats when we are cloistered in our homes in these troubled times. There are now a long list of fitting entries into this niche of movie magic. So, why not make use of them for a little poetry? 

I wrote the poem, Happy Feet, , after watching the classic Xmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” several years ago, to complement my work on “emotional debt” (the sense of owing or being owed in life) because the character of George Bailey represents someone who forfeits his personal dreams and lives a life of self-sacrifice and service to others (emphasizing his duty over his right to pursue his own dreams).  The movie highlights the fact that we really do not know how powerfully or profoundly we might effect the lives of others or the times in which we live. I sometimes feel guilty for not living more like George Bailey, chiding myself for being too self-centered and caught up in my own world, while also holding myself back from free expression out of fear of judgement. The movie is a great reminder that our “random acts of kindness” do amount to something even though we may never be privy to the impact.

Prompt #1: 

Pick out one of the holiday movies—a favorite you might watch again, or a new one you have not yet seen, or get a recommendation from a friend, or simply pick out one that happens to be on the air when you are glued to the tube. 

Watch the movie with a notebook handy.  Notes lines of dialogue, or quirky scenes, or scribble your impressions as the movie proceeds. 

Then use what you noted as your prompt and write whatever comes to mind.

Prompt #2: 

Take a tradition you usually enjoy during this season and write about it—the parties; the seasonal clothing, the colors of lights and streets decorated; the Xmas cards put on on display like a little altar; the standard fare of meals; the choosing of gifts, the wrapping and giving; etc.

Prompt #3: 

What gives you happy feet during this time of year despite the pandemics terrible toll on the world?