You lie asleep,
deep in dreams,
deaf to all our
whispered wishes that
somehow you –
the fresh babe of the New Year —
will deliver all we have been denied,
resolve all our sorrows
in the coming tomorrows.
We’ve tasked you with
rectifying bad habits,
sad outlooks,
bettering our butts,
improving our paychecks,
forgetting lifetimes of regret—
in short: affirmation, dammit
that we all deserve, right?
It’s a lot to ask
of a one-day old,
slumbering peacefully
in the dark.
We all kiss you at
midnight,
drunk in
your new baby smell
shouting you be
Happy New Year,
by which we mean that
you will do everything,
little one,
to make us happy,
finally happy.
Susan Koefod 