This New Year's Eve
the world again will refuse
the weight of grief – the war
declared for "absolute victory,"
the wounded strangers left
homeless in the Strip, Putin's
trains stalled at Ukraine's border,
Red Sea shipping lanes rocketing
with Houthi fire. Tonight,
for once, the world will crowd
the evening with too many
noise-makers – every body in
Manhattan showing up in the Square
with its glistering crystal ball
twelve feet in diameter.
Down a pole the orb will come,
marking more than a century
of midnight shifts, one year
folding into the next, precisely kept
for the more than billion revelers
tuning in via tv or Internet.
We will all look for the patterns
and meanings in the glass,
the balm of Love and Wisdom,
Happiness and Goodwill,
Harmony and Serenity,
Kindness and Fortitude,
Wonder and Imagination.
We will try to spot the hearts
overlapping, the wheel spinning,
Earth's sun, three pineapples,
butterflies in flight, a starburst
out of our Universe. And we will
recall the resolutions newly made,
already broken, sip Top 5 champagnes,
and keep our ears and eyes open.
Later will be time enough to protest.
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The words "absolute victory" come from Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, referencing the goal of the country's war with the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.
Various Facts about the New Year's Eve Crystal Ball in Times Square
Some Other New Year's Eve Poems of Mine:
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