New?

New year poem

And they go to the same old places

To see the same old haggard faces.

The fireworks get bigger every year,

For the crowd quickly gets weary, and

Questions, like dead bodies, float to

The surface of opaque minds:

“If time is an illusion, a bad dream

In which I get older and fade away,

Who is it staring back at me from  

The dusty mirror on this red-letter day?”

 

New are the furrows on the landscape

Of my face, new are the links in the

Long, rusty chain of my dutiful years,

New are the never-before-felt pains

Gnawing at my flesh and at my brains,

New are the graves where my old hopes

Have been laid to rest like festering waste,

New are the terrors this world will

Have to face, gasping for air, having lost

Its sense of smell and that of taste.

 

And yet, like a knight who polishes

His battered armor to a shine, and

Unsheathes his sword one more time,

I prepare for a new battle to fight.

Death is a long sleep I’ll welcome

One day, but I still see the sun rising

In the east kindling a fire in me that

Longs to burn with an ever brighter flame.

The world is an old stage, but the promise

Of new love makes it worthwhile to play the game.

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

I have seen alot of new years in, and see them in quietly these days. I remember the parties, the countdown to midnight and the fireworks. The celebrations were fun. Covid has put paid to that. The world is indeed an old stage and the promise of a new player in the love stakes would certainly make the ringing out of the old and welcoming in the new far more exciting. It's been a while since I read you. Somehow I haven't seen your work on the board. Happy new year Laz. I enjoyed the read.

Chris

[Laz K.]

Thank you for reading and commenting, and I wish you a belated happy new year.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Solomon said there was nothing new under the sun. It's a shame the old chap didn't get out at night more. (laughing) Seriously, this was some really good writing with clear imagery and solid logical progression. It was common enough to feel empathy with and fresh enough to feel original without being esoteric. I enjoyed the read. F.

[Lorry]

Alas, I put up a valiant fight, but gravity and time wearied me so, and now I age in dog years, while dreaming I'm a pup. In an attic somewhere, there is a picture of me that must look stunning. 😊
A fine piece sir, showing that it is sometimes the viewers perspective that changes, and not just the scenery.

[Kesch (Finding Julia)]

Kind of an emotional read, nicely expressed

[Coyote Poetry]

We can't decide our death, but we can decide our life.
"Death is a long sleep I’ll welcome
One day, but I still see the sun rising
In the east kindling a fire in me that
Longs to burn with an ever brighter flame.
The world is an old stage, but the promise
Of new love makes it worthwhile to play the game."
I loved the above lines Laz. thank you for sharing the amazing poetry and your thoughts.
Coyote