2/22: Two, to, too
“Day after day, I will walk and I will play
But the day after today, I will stop and I will start”
I love to create metaphors, unpack words, bring what’s hidden to light. As a poet and poetry professor, it is, in some ways, my profession.
Perhaps you find my constant digging annoying and perhaps you think I dig too deep or too broad or too far, but I don’t think that is possible. While Freud quipped, “A cigar is sometimes just a cigar,” a word is never just a word (hence the Freudian slip). And a number is never just a number (unless it’s an age, but nevermind…).
Today is 02/02/22—and if you are in Europe it’s also 02/02/22.
Monday found us under a new moon, Tuesday brought us the first day of the second month, the lunar new year, and the Year of the Tiger. Today is the second day of the second month and Imbolc, the traditional first day of spring, also known as Candlemas and St. Brigid’s Day. And, in the US, it’s Groundhog Day, the annual winter guessing game involving a rodent, a shadow, and the possibility of spring—and a movie all about second chances.
February 2nd. A day worth repeating. 2/2 echoes itself and the year and repeats what it has always said: let’s start again. 2/22: two, to, too.
2/Two
In the month of Valentine’s, I am not out to ruin relationships, but to reflect on who shares my company. Work, family, hobbies, friends, social responsibilities, domestic chores, this blog all ask for me by name. Who is the best partner for my time?
2/To
This year, I am ready to move on. I have been seeing from the same vantage, considering the same view for a couple of years—the same couple of years as most everyone else. My goals from 2020 are pretty much my goals for 2022. Where am I going?
2/Too
As today lengthens to look more like tomorrow, I stand before my next, my more, my begin again. And the snow, like sugar, lights the night blankly sweet.
