A Poem for 2022
[Listen to an audio version of this blog here.]
Every year, I write a poem in honor of that year. I've only been doing this since 2016, but it's an interesting way to reflect on the past year, and to see my own evolution as a writer and as a person. When I was younger, my writing was tinged with anger and resentment. Now, especially over the past year, my writing has taken on a more subdued and understanding tone, and not necessarily on purpose. Once growth begins to happen, it's difficult to stop, and with growth comes the understanding that most people are not evil, that holding onto grudges and resentment only deteriorates the person holding it, and that anger is the least powerful of all emotions. While anger can be motivating, it is not a motivation that lasts. There is much more nuance in empathy than there is in anger, and it's much more fun to explore. I've also learned that anger is almost always a front for some other, deeper, more vulnerable emotion or pain.
This year will end in a matter of days, and we'll all forget to write '23 in the slot allocated for "year" in the forms at the dentists office. We'll pause for a moment to say farewell or good riddance to the year that has past. Some of us will celebrate, and some of us won't give a damn. January 1st is just another day, after all. But I hope you take a moment to pause and reflect on 2022, whatever it held, and wherever it brought you.
2022
this year was a decadent pastry crust
beneath a heaping pile of hemlock leaves
love is a wild atrocity
uncertainty a side effect of breathing
2022 was smooth like butter, but rancid
sweet as honey, sharp as a cactus
strong as a Baptist choir
on a Sunday morning in mid-December
remember today if you can
remember the plans you made and unraveled
the people you loved and
the miles you traveled
life is too fast for snapshot memories
time is a ruthless,
frightening thing
2022 was the year I sharpened
my addiction to pain
burned my champagne problems
taught my demons to sing
there’s no end to our bottom
no winter in spring
and the people in charge
don’t know a damn thing
2022 was a pop rocket
a blank slate
the year we woke up
from our quarantined graves
crypto imploded
a midterm election / raging recession
court cases and heat waves
too many flights / war in Ukraine
Roe v. Wade / Depp v. Heard
Alex jones / Theranos
2022 demanded honesty
clarity lives in small print
and footnotes
this year tasted
like breadcrumbs and hope
I let my walls down slowly
one brick at a time
but walls don’t fall
without a fight
2022 was a waning moon
a lavender sun
the year I would run to the
edge of the earth and sigh
I always fall short
no matter how hard I try
and time is an angry, raging thing
the house next door
has been vacant for weeks
hundreds of people
have applied for a loan
home should not be
unobtainable
but the banks are fat
with interest rates
and America First
still sounds like hate
2022 was a reckoning
clipped wings can always grow again
dollars are always made of cents
and no matter what
we will wither and die
time never stops
no matter how hard I try
to hit the pause key
this year is crumpling slowly
a decadent pastry crust
on the tip of my tongue
love is a wild atrocity
uncertainty a side effect
of breathing
P.S. Check out this list of 66 New Year's resolutions that you may or may not keep, or find a new gym membership here.
xoxo
Sarah Rose