The New Year shines ahead of us

And the old year’s gone faster than most.

We hope good days lie before us

And the past will soon be toast.

The old year has taught us lessons.

We’ve survived hardship and pain.

We’ve learned to endure the darkness

And hide our tears in the rain.

We’ve lived through the sting of betrayal.

We’ve faced death by disease day by day.

We’ve grieved the losses we’ve suffered,

And we’ve learned when to walk away.

There is hope in a new tomorrow,

And a chance to make things right.

All we need is to love each other

And seek God’s holy light.

We can learn to trust our neighbor

And give straight from the heart.

We can learn to accept each other’s

Differences from the start.

We need to focus on living 

Each moment one by one

And count our many blessings

When each day is done.

-Yu/stan/kema-