"Song for the New Year"

The trees lean in.
The last of the autumn leaves rustle.

The wind crinkles
and stirs the basket in your hands.

Today, you are here,
in the crisp cusp of morning,
shivering.

Somewhere, a teacher erases a blackboard.
A student erases an answer.
You drag your soles across patterns in the mud.
Erasure, closure,
beginning.

You reach into your ocean heart
and pull out promises,
words smooth and rough, tall and small.

Today we learn resilience,
purpose, faith, strength.
Chance, forgiveness, possibility.

You close your eyes.
The sky broadens and lightens.
The market opens its doors.

The lights flick on like tongues
lapping at your heels.

Forward.