I’ve tallied up a lot of years,
Recalling them was fun
But none seemed as significant,
As Twenty Twenty-One
The underlying malaise,
And the overt discontent
The fraying of the edges
And the stuff that folks resent
The metaphor of fisticuffs
The boiling point of “fight”
The fact that loving kindness-
Seems to dim its beacon light
Are factors we are staring at
In metastatic fear
While evil eats the soul of us
As we enter the new year

The rockets glared on Jan the 6th
We haven’t yet recovered
Three rich guys invaded space
What is it they discovered?
Potter was experienced
But left the taser, took the gun
She and Chauvin , guilty-found
A “smidge” of justice – done.
Rittenhouse not guilty –
His deed? A clean-cut killing
But to some he is a hero
Their love of violence self-fulilling

And then of course there’s covid
Delta, omicron –what’s next?
Our lives are turning flips flops
Soon we’ll have our sex by text
Taiwan and the Ukraine
Causing earth to shake with threats
Major global warning
As our icebergs melt in sweats
Manchin drunk with power
BBB is on the rocks
But with infrastructure passage
That may keep afloat our stocks

Though gloom and doom is everywhere
More folks are fighting back
Voting Rights are up for grabs
This calls for an attack
Democracy’s not easy
We need vigil all day long
We’ve got to enter Twenty-Two
With loving that is strong

So everybody, share the work
Stay smart and know your stuff
Don’t get fooled by fakery
This year we’ve had enough
Check your sources thoroughly
And still maintain respect
Let’s treat each other civilly
In life – we must connect

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2022