I was asked to write a poem describing a new year with the theme of odyssey. I wanted to write something inspiring but ultimately this is what came to my mind. I suppose that in terms of how I feel, I’m just a concoction of sadness and joy. My emotions seem to undulate quite a bit like the waves of a wide ocean. A lot has happened to me this past year in my personal life and frankly people who know me tell me that I’m handling it better than many others would have. I suppose I have learned having mental breakdowns is not the best way to cope with things; I never hope to reach there again. In any case, without any more potential platitudes, here it is.
The end of the year
comes and touches us too soon
carrying with it a thousand memories
and in those ticking seconds
beautiful unanswerable questions
I ask myself how each of us feel
with each passing year
Decades ago, we were forced to unmoor
from the safe harbor of birth
each of us casted our own sail
subjected to the winds that have since swept us
We navigated past the eddy pools of childhood,
the undulating crests and troughs of teenage years,
and the unforeseen whirlpools of later years
And now under the waxing moon
When the soft silver falls
Shimmering into a new year
Casting light on our worn sails
Will this ship
sink under a great approaching tsunami
or from lurking invisible boulders
or will we continue the odyssey of our lives?
Whatever may come to pass
I only know the winds of change
never has and never will sit still.
We will venture into new places
of our imperfect lives
We may be surprised and even spellbound
because we can cross greater waters
without realizing it.
