End Of This Round

We were making the normal plans,
Doing the normal things
Until a tornado tore through,
Companioned by DeRecho,
His destructive, straight-line little brother,
Only a foreshadowing of the
Millions of illnesses,
Hundreds of thousands of deaths,
Fools who will believe any lie,
Liars who will say anything to fools,
Believers bound to self at others' expense,
Murderers masquerading as public servants,
Righteous protests co-opted into violence,
Excusing the cavalier callousness of the unconcerned,
Torn muscles slowly recovering -- I think,
Hearing again, and again, and again
That you are an abuser, nothing more,
Students gasping for the air of learning
And small businesses asphyxiating
In the oxygen-starved virtual desert,
An election compromised by proofless claims
From the Sycophant Party who would 
Run the whole damned ship aground,
Rather than legally yield the helm,
A dark religion built around the American father of lies,
An ailing father-in-law falling toward, but not quite reaching his end,
His daughter's teeth torn away for her own good,
And finally, just when you thought
It was safe to stay home for Christmas,
One more crazy, narcissistic bastard
Burns down other peoples' dreams
For his own twisted glory.
But in the smoking hellscape 
There were people pulling together,
Cutting trees from houses,
Heroic warriors in scrubs,
Compassionate mask-wearers,
Staying home to protect the vulnerable,
Praying saints gathering at a safe distance,
A loan, turned grant to pull us through,
An old friendship revived,
A muse awakened, speaking out
Through wooden bowls, audienceless songs, 
Thanksgiving recordings for Christmas family,
Living loved ones, untouchable, but safe,
An old man's repentant review of his own life,
Promises of hope from a new needle,
A new set of teeth,
A new pair of hiking shoes,
A family and friends still loving 
Through screens and ear buds,
A Savior still in the manger,
Graduations, new jobs, new ideas, 
And new worlds to imagine
As the spin of seasons
Passes Go, collects $200,
And rolls once again in The Game of Life.

Reflection
1. How do you review your life at the end of each year? What would it take to do that?
2. When a year is difficult for you, do you reflect on it anyway and try to learn, or do you try to get away from it because it is too painful? What results, positive or negative, come from that?
3. After reflecting on the previous year, what hopes do you have for the coming year, and what can you do to bring them to life?