Poem: December

 December

December counts off, screaming

Ready or not!

And not scurries out of the way of the lot,

While the confident ready is crushed by the rush

Realizing too late, as it does every year,

That the line between ready and not disappears

As the calendar's climax draws closer, and whether

We like it or not, we all get there together.

Some started the year

With high hopes for success,

Manifesting for more while depending on less.

Meanwhile others were late coming out of the gate,

But just like the tortoise, intent to prevail,

Took well-measured steps on a well-trodden trail

Just to find that in hindsight, no matter the pace

That we set, we all get to the very same place

At the very same hour

In the very same year

As the timelines converge until they disappear,

And the ready, the not, and those who forgot

There was even a race they were trying to win

Set their sights on the one that's about to begin.

And if there are regrets, by the time next December

Counts off, chances are we won't even remember.

- Chuck Baudelaire

12.5.2024