Poem of the year

Poem of the year

A year is a song

we sing it

Twelve, sometimes thirteen months long

2013

a strong melody

bright notes

tones of midnight

the mantle of dawn

the people hum

and do all the things

in the world

that don’t stop the world

the days roll on

dusk approaches

a candle gets lit

surely it must burn out

we’ve come this far

I’ll spell it out

A wild berry

a fish

a star

a breeze

a sprout

plums and cherries

a hawk

peaches and ease

September was special

and yet

the best

is a table

outside on this plaza

on a cool December night

looking about

though

The wars of men have stopped

some of us

(blown out candles)

walking around

like

October’s children

taking

a selfie in Beirut

I won’t forget

New Year’s Day

Philadelphia

parade route

In November we ate

I can’t remember

the full menu

fish sauce and turkey

but now

I have a new issue

It’s this-

the song in my head

it needs a new sound

something purer

than a carol

or a jingle

after the year’s final countdown

renewing a song

that’s countless years long

is an art

I’ll draw deep and sweep the notes

of my heart

and breathe out what’s left

and walk around the sun whistling

the true alphabet

________________________

*this was a fb status composed for New Year’s Eve 2013 that has been worked on a little up to the present form, January 2, 2014, Nha Be District, Saigon, Vietnam