"Poem
For the New Year 2006"
Poetry by Michael F. Nyiri
December 31st, 8:48 a.m. pst
I can clearly remember when
yesterday held the promise of tomorrow,
And dreams were little more than hopes wrapped up in sorrow
The plan for life was written in the books of life
And chapters torn from bindings were the answers to harsh strife
I can clearly observe when the nightmares started appearing
When love and gracious living turned to fright and fearing
I locked the door to dismal doom and proclaimed love was ample
Yet looking over dusty dreams I cannot seem to find the sample
As each year dawns, the wrinkles show
Up clearer than sled tracks in snow
And mirrors stopped being friendly icons
But as years multiply let there be pleasant bygones
I face the unopened calendar with hope and substance
Opening the shrinkwrap on tomorrow from a distance
And in a week or two tomorrow becomes yesterday
And only memory's understanding shows it's hand in play
I write again my poem for the new year
Attempting to carve in stone a callout to my muse and seer
I stand naked to serendipity and fate, my friends and foes
And will see, as usual what this coming year shirks and shows
I resolve to pay attention to what is said and what is thought
I maintain that I will enjoy the things I have through lost time wrought
Again the minute hand of hollow substance rounds the curve
And out of harm's way I hope my steady hand will swerve
I give a thousand thanks for life and hope, and dreams and love
For fateful fallow fickleness and God throughout and above
I stand on the mountaintop of experience and haven't fallen yet
I said so many years ago I knew not what in life was set
And here half a century and a few years hence in life's whirlwind
I don't believe I've spent the time or sent all good will that I could
send
So I turn another corner and I greet the day with a smile
And will not worry that what I don't understand might upset me for
a while
The tears will never stop falling on my cheek I fear,
And tomorrow and tomorrow I will again survive another year.
The plan for life has not
been set in solid stone, of this I know
And when my simple life has ended, let my thanks for this existence
clearly show
Poetry
2005
