New Year

Slowly ticked the moments of the year
As she prepared for her end -- someone else's succession
No heed I paid to the slow approach of aught-six
Another year, another year -- Nothing has changed since yesterday
This year will be as swift-footed as the last
As our tiny sphere of a planet sprints in her arc
Throughout the galaxy, around the sun --
It is but another lap in this seemingly

Endless race

And yet

As I woke this morning, the sun shining through my window pane
Very much the same -- and altogether different -- sun and sky
And somewhere in my mind -- within it's darkened recesses
I could hear voices of the past shout in triumph
One last time -- then fade into the depths of my skull again
Reminding me how far in life I've traveled
How many friends I've known along the way
How the ending of a year is the beginning, not the end
Of life to come
And yet
I pull the covers across my eyes and wish for five more minutes
Before I have to start the new year right
Before facing all I've left undone and still to do
The me I am and the me that I should be:
The battles lost and won throughout my lifetime
And those I've still to face me coming soon --
But until I slip from my sanctuary beneath my pillow
All these future shadows must remain hidden a bit longer
I sigh
And rise
Another year ahead, another just behind:
The die has been cast; the wheel set in motion --
I must face this coming year as though a Lion
And yet...

1/1/06
-- Josh