New Lang Syne

my Mind

is so numb

and my senses overcome

by the paralyzing plethora 

of crises and challenges

and chaos and changes

overwhelming our systems

of surviving and thriving

that i come

to the end

of this nightmarish year

exhausted and anxious

and weary with fear

and teary with tension

from deficient attention

to the state

of my Soul

which increasingly feels like

an expanding black hole

reeling out of control

with assuming and presuming

now consuming me whole

leaving my abilities

to wrestle with the vortex

in my cerebral cortex

compromised and diminished

my capacity for concentration 

all but finished

and my totality

of Person

longing to bid

good riddance

to this year

where our fear

held centre court

and our world captive

through grim fatalities

and realities

where change

was not only constant

but relentless

and even ruthless

exposing many

of our foundational myths

as inhumane and truthless

enclosing all

of our anxieties

in seemingly impenetrable

walls of irrationalities

how i wish

to unabashedly extinguish

this swirling dervish

of chronological catastrophe

and demonic disaster

and blast its remains

beyond the Hereafter...

but my Heart

is still beating

and my Lungs

are still breathing

and our Planet

is still spinning

(not entirely

out of control)

and the Moon

is still grinning

(even when

not entirely full)

and maybe

the opportunities

embedded in this

brave new year

will appear less

from without

and more

from Within

less from

grabbing ahold

and more

from giving away

to Live

in such a Way

driven less

by what is mine

and more

by what is Ours

acknowledging

and owning

what makes me

most afraid

and why

i hang on

for dear life

to what

can only live

and be

the Source

of dear Life

when it is

let go

and let Be

setting our Selves

and each other

Free to see

that to err

is Natural

and to Forgive

is both Human

and Divine

and to release

our endless spinning

of turntables

of expectation

and mindless clasping

onto timetables

of anticipation

might be

the greatest Revelation

and Revolution

of all

the grandest Evolution

of our Race

to receive

each Space

and Moment

and Heartbeat

and Breath

as a Gift

of Grace

to perceive

all our acquaintances

old and new

trying and true

as unrepeatable

and unforgettable

Incarnations

of Love

to believe

that the Breath

of the Divine

animates our Bodies

sucitates our Spirits

in Ways

that Transcend 

religious and political

and socioeconomical

convictions and constrictions

to conceive

of a World

where we raise

cups of Kindness

and Care

to those most

vulnerable first

and foremost

with hearts

of generosity

and Spirits

of authenticity

and raise Voices

long silenced

by injustice

and inequality

in Advocacy

and Solidarity

as One Community

Beloved and Beautiful

Magnificent and Mindful

less comfortably numb

and more Compassionately

Awake and Alive

less desperately

trying to survive

and more Hopefully

vying to thrive

less cowered

in the polarities

of old and new

more empowered

by the possibilities

of Here

and Now.

#HappyNewYear2021 #2020IsNowHindsight #WeAreOne #WeAreLoved #WeAreLove #BeHereNow

(Artwork © Rafael López)