Not the way I wanted 2024 to finish
but then it never does
another Christmas
another turkey in the oven
in this house we celebrate quietly
while so many go without
all to the backdrop of
political storms
at home
abroad
stretching into the new year
the television never sleeps
though it sometimes lies

At this late age
I don’t anger so easily any more
shave another year off the ol’ lifespan?
I don’t think so
what’s the point?
besides my degree of mellow
requires a new word
maybe mellaxed?
in any case
best to purge any and all frustration away
in the single blast of a new poem

While as ever before
the only certainties in life
death and taxes keep steering this car
into imaginary guardrails
staccato rhythms
drifting out of radio
as they always have
sweep me away


© 2024

110 hits as of December 2024

12/18/2024

Author's Note: The first closing poem in Empty Boxes & Loose Ends, followed by In the End, then Truth of the Matter.

Posted on 12/18/2024
Copyright © 2024 Chris Sorrenti