new year’s meh (2nd draft)

to the year that has passed and all its happenstance 
so long 

to all the crosswords left unsolved 
farewell 

to the books i stack everywhere
have faith

to the sky that does not know if it wants to rain or snow 
may you find peace 

to my neighbor who rakes the leaves that fall from my tree on his lawn
i wave from the window 

to all the dead batteries in the back of the desk drawer 
i’m sure we’ll meet again 

to last year’s new year’s eve seven-layer dip on the bottom shelve of the fridge 
sorry i let you down
 
to the empty gum wrapper blowing around in the gutter 
enjoy your travels

to the cable tv news and the loons who scream on the bus 
good show 

to all the potholes on east alameda avenue that never get fixed 
stay true 

and to the new year that approaches with all its nervous verve 
i say 
ok 

note: submitted for publication 12-31-22. i turned off the comments because these are just updated reposts, for my own organizational purposes, comments and whatnot would be redundant