Christmas is past.
May your life be full of ‘merry’
more and more and more
and soothing sounds
and joyous light,
quiet gentle moments,
wondrous discoveries,
bits of humor,
laughter, chuckles and smiles,
private quiet meditation.
May you resist
the temptation of despair.
May you smell
the scent of hope
right there
in the air.

May you know
the love of friends.
May we revere
the thoughts we share,
our bright or darker visions
the promises of freedom
and the solitude of prisons
that enclose our minds
and hearts and souls,
both when we hold the keys
and when we’ve no control.

May we love the lone wolves
and all the sheep in all the herds.
May we find comfort in silence
and in the sound of simple words,
in songs, poems, and heartfelt tales
of the emboldening ideals
of leaders dead and gone
who laid out pathways never taken
and spoke of hopes long forsaken.

May we find the strength
to maintain determination
in every trying situation.
May we know how special
are the chosen few
and how special, too,
are all the faces
we barely notice
in the many crowds
who know a thing or two
about your me
about their you.

Happy New Year 2025.

How special the air we breathe,
the water that we drink,
the bread and butter
that we eat,
the sun and the cold
the moon and the clouds.
How quick we come to be!
How seldom we recall our dead!
How heedless we are
to care for the living!

We are each
a singular me,
and may every me
within our we
be ready and willing
to be giving
and forgiving.