Latitude My Attitude! Dual New Year’s Resolution Poems

I love poetry, both reading and writing it, and have found a home with the dVerse Poets Pub. Prompts are published several times per week for poets to use as inspiration for a new creation. I don’t always have time to participate but when I do, it is interesting, challenging, stimulating, educational and rewarding. Today, I’m participating in another poetry challenge, Tanka Tuesday. This poetry challenge site focuses on syllabic poetry — a fun way to sharpen your poetry chops and keep your brain nimble.

Today’s Tanka Tuesday challenge was to write a syllabic poem that addresses New Year’s resolutions and incorporates one of ten suggested resolutions into the poem somehow. How fun!

I chose the Italian Ottava rima form, which follows this structure:

• Rhyme scheme: a / b / a / b / a / b / c / c
• 8 lines
• 11 syllables per line

I wanted to use words that were tough to rhyme, to make the poem more challenging, and took a few of the seven deadly sins into account.

My 2026 Attitude

Just in time for new year’s, I’ll find new resolve:
I’ll forgo anger and never be wrothful;
I’ll assume good intent, forgive, and absolve;
I won’t be lazy, gluttonous or slothful;
Nor prideful, nor greedy—I’ll be more evolved.
I’ll seek out the good, steer clear of the awful,
Volunteer more, and practice my gratitude.
I’ll give myself and others more latitude.

After I finished the poem, I went back to the challenge and read a few of the others (highly recommended). Most of them chose the actual tanka format for their creations, so I thought I’d better do that, too. As a newbie, I want to fit in! A tanka is a Japanese poem consisting of five lines, with these syllables in the lines: 5, 7, 5, 7, 7. There are 31 syllables in all, and the poem should paint a picture of an event or mood — often illustrating a change in feeling.

Here’s mine, on the same topic.

forgoing anger
pridefulness, greed and grudges,
I’ll seek out the good,
practice my gratitude, and
latitude my attitude

Now that I’ve written them both, I like to think of the tanka as the synopsis of the longer poem.

This was fun, challenging, and a perfect thing to do on a cold winter afternoon while on vacation on the Mississippi coast. I chose the gulls for images because I think they definitely have latitude in their attitude. And if you’re wondering, wrothful (first poem) is a real word. Obscure, archaic, and absolutely fair game in formal poetry. I checked. Twice. 😁

I’d love to hear what this sparked for you — whether you lean toward formal poetry, free verse, or are simply resolving to show yourself a little more latitude in the year ahead. As always, I treasure every comment.

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