This is a work in progress, I think. It switches person from singular (I) to plural (we) and back. I stayed within first person, but conventional wisdom says not to swicth between the two. Maybe I'll change it, maybe I won't. 2020 wasn't conventional so why should my response to it be expected to follow the grammatical norms?
2020
This was the year that was.
We can’t wait for it to end.
We tell ourselves that the world we wake up to on January 1st
will be different than the world we left behind on December 31st.
Probably not.
2020 was a year of confusion, pain, and suffering
A year of division and mistrust
A year of name calling and polarization
2020 was the year that prejudices refused to be kept hidden
Words didn’t remain unsaid
We couldn’t take it anymore.
Lost lives, lost friendships, lost jobs, lost way of life.
Driven away and replaced by
worry, despair, and fear.
The end of the year is always a time to reflect.
This year, I think about
Pain and turmoil,
Grieving the loss of life as I knew it,
Craving a softer, quieter year.
Craving an end to the madness,
Thinking of the future.
Knowing that the madness of 2020 will haunt my dreams
For years to come.
Knowing that the doubts and hatred that bubbled to the surface in 2020
Will not magically go away on January 1, 2021.
The end of the year is usually a time to
Count blessings and be grateful for what you have.
Amid the loss, solitude, and sheltering in place,
Where is the soothing touch
That makes you feel all right even when you’re not.
Where are the comforting words and hugs
That help you ease out of the trauma and forward to a happier time.
We’re told to think about what we have, not what we have lost.
I still have my dreams
I still miss family and friends and the closeness of humanity.
Will this last forever
or is it like a storm we weather and then recover from,
Rebuild the broken buildings and lives,
And look back in wonder,
At how far we have come.
2020
The year that was
2021
The year that will be.
I'm going forward with
Strength, compassion, and an open mind.
and hoping that will be enough.
