Wacky New Year to You!

Wham, bam, slam,

Right to the jaw,

Left to the gut,

Wild haymaker and

Bloody New Years nose,

            It’s Peru,

And fist fight catharsis

Clears the air

            For the next 365 days!

Somewhere in history,

Some anonymous genius

            Noticed seasons,

            The cycles of seasons,

And dubbed each

            A year—

 A measurement

            For our lives.

With that,

World-wide imagination

            Kicked in:

Old year, new year;

New year, future;

            New year, hope!

Tradition!

                        Party!

And so the Irish throw

            Bread against walls,

Ecuador burns scarecrows–

            And photos,

Japan smiles, ringing bells

            108 times.

The Swiss drop ice cream,

Thais throw water buckets,

The French eat pancakes,

Russians plant tree trunks

At the bottom

                        of frozen lakes.

Colombians lug

                        Empty suitcases,                

Brazilians jump seven waves,

Estonians eat seven meals,

While Danes hurl

                        Plates and pottery

            At friends’ front doors.

The Brits’ “First Footing”

Welcomes a dark-haired man

            Bearing midnight gifts,

Crazy Scots swing sticks

Stuck to blazing fireballs,

While in the Philippines,

            And Mexico,

All change underwear—

            White for peace,

            Gold for wealth,

Red, of course, for love

            In the new, new year!

Yet in America,

            We keep it simple:

Remember Dick Clark,

                        Watch a ball drop, Kiss.

Then sing Auld Lang Syne

            At the top of our lungs,

Raise many a cup o’ kindness,

Leave our undies

                        Publicly in place,

And have

                        A Happy New Year!

                        Bruce Roberts

            2015— New Years Eve

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