Month of Poetry: Day 1

I'm doing Month of Poetry again this year. It has been my January tradition for 5 years now, and every year I love it more. I won't post all or even most of my poems here, as I save some up for possible further work to submit to journals, but I always like to post my New Year's Day poem ... so here it is.

A Madrigal for the New Year

the suburbs swell with drink and thumping bass
the city, distant, flower-lights the sky
a journey round the sun has passed us by.

we hope, of course, the new year brings us grace
that perhaps there will be less tears now to cry.
the heartbeat pulses in the distant bass
farewelling all the old year has put by.

the night alight with fire-wrought golden lace
while, quietly, the swooping bats' wings sigh
and we tell a story that we hope is not a lie:
that this year will be the treble to our bass,
that there are angels waiting in the sky
that life will not end, nor will it pass us by.