New Year’s Wishes! (the body parts sonnet)

New Year’s Wishes!

(the body parts sonnet)

Your heart has wished folks well on New Year’s Eve.
You’ve sung “Should old acquaintance be forgot…”
(Your brain recalled the right words – did it not?),
And felt deep in your gut all you’ll achieve
In the year ahead.  You’ve mouthed the words
And eyed the prize you’re sure you’ll win within
The first few months.  Oh, toe the line, begin
A diet, lend a hand…it sounds absurd
Because you’ve voiced this every year.  But now
That you have Parkinson’s, you need to arm
Yourself much more, to hold at bay the harm
That Mr. P has slapped across your brow.
So, yes, you’ll face the facts, and double check
To work out, keep your chin up, save your neck.

I originally drafted this poem in the 1st person Point of View (“My heart has wished folks well on New Year’s Eve./I’ve sung ‘Should old acquaintance be forgot…'”).  Then I was lying in bed at 3:00 a.m., and, unable to sleep, obsessively converted it in my mind to 2nd person POV (“Your heart has wished…You’ve sung…”).  Doing so had a powerful impact on me:  I felt as if some Universal Force was admonishing me to get my act together.  So I bolted out of bed, changed the draft and posted it posthaste.

I hope I didn’t offend anyone with this revision.  As regular Parking Suns visitors know, I started writing sonnets after my diagnosis as a way to challenge myself mentally.  I freely admit that I’m a novice at this.  I began composing this New Year’s sonnet this morning at breakfast.  Over lunch I realized that idioms about body parts were emerging everywhere like spring crocuses, so I threaded them in whenever I could.  

I sincerely hope for the best for all of us going forward.  A cure would be terrific.