A New Year's Moment

The second hand approaches

its final destination,

and amongst the chaos

and cacophony,

every character raises a

carefully selected

glass of poison-

numbing the awareness, that

of the last 365 days

only the briefest moments exist

in their current memory.

The television crackles,

the sound of static

and fireworks

and a faraway crowd reciting

the meaningless drone

of Auld Lang Syne

fills the space left by the sounds

of ‘cheers to another good year.’

A brand new day marks the end of an old,

and I am left to quietly wonder at the time

that was robbed from me, is robbed from me,

even now while I await the inevitable

well-meaning text messages,

lost in the traffic

way out in space.

A brand new day marks the end of an old,

and despite an obligation to express

joy and love,

all I claim to feel is overdressed-

as if thanking some invisible man

for my fatigue and my cold

with which I know I must be truly blessed.