On the Eve of A New Year

A Poem by Alexis Ragan

There is a waiting in the air... 

all the world feels it,

this knowing that for everyone,

a new page will be turned shortly in time. 

For some, the change couldn’t have come sooner. For others, 

they long to savor the leaving year just a little longer.

Birds fly differently, recognizing they too will change...

Have you ever, for a glimpse, 

wondered if you could bottle all the moments

 that made the days worthwhile only to reopen them

on the eve of a new year? Or do you long to burn the memories

in the fire of letting go, the things you can no longer hold?

Wherever you are tonight, tomorrow will greet you 

with a fresh breathe, an invitation to begin again, 

and yes, a song to embrace the start of something that will 

only help you to grow, if you let it be so,

so let the things you carry into 2024 only be lessons

to lead you, to keep you from repeating what 

happened behind you, for before you goes 

another who has already said, already promised

things better, days much, much brighter.

Brilliant, zealous explosions light up the evening 

sky and melt into this blink of a night, the clock ticks quickly 

counting down the last, the final seconds,

“and what will you do with your one wild and precious life?" 

Because all we can do, sometimes, is take another breath

and whisper, 

What's next, Lord?