Happy New Year

Learning to Breathe Again

Fireworks popping, a little clumsy,
somewhere in the neighbourhood.
Bursts of light slicing through the cold winter night.

Through an open window,
the New Year steps in.
Pink, blue, yellow sparks,
falling onto frozen pavements,
I hope they colour
everything around our home.

On a small piece of paper, I write a little prayer.
That I may become someone firmly rooted.
Steady at the beginning,
steady at the end.

Tears come—
not from joy overflowing,
not from pain breaking through.
With these tears,
I offer my first New Year’s greeting:
Happy New Year.

A fragment of the winter moon, quietly watched.
It breathes, calmly, just like that.
And the deep night
grows even deeper.

I will be alright—
this year too.
Under whatever sky you are,
may you always be strong and well.

I love you.

*these are my own paintings *