-new year-

New year new me same coffee order
I remove one mask to reveal another
exactly the same. I am who I am
have always been and does this scare
or comfort you? If you knew me at all
you’d know I hate surprises. Don’t show
up at my doorstep unannounced.
It’s just plain rude and besides,
I have social anxiety, not about you
but putting on a face I haven’t washed
or decorated so as to be pleasing to the eye.

Does this song sound familiar? I hope it does
because the only thing that feels better
than being alone is the fact
that others are alone with me.
Finding my way through the forest of self
one step in mud at a time.
The lotus doesn’t grow without the mud
and I am one with nature in this.

The cold isn’t so bad once you learn to relax
and stop shivering in response.
The ring of this sounds like a key
fitting in the place of a lock.
The Japanese say we have a different face
we wear for everyone in our lives
or something like that

Have you ever walked toward a blank door
And tried the knob just to see what happens?
Sometimes it opens and that’s kind of how
this is. The door opens and it’s much warmer
here, and as you walk you see an old woman
staring at you from a distance
and as you get closer you see she is smiling
and as you pass her, you lock eyes. She says,
“Happy new year.” And you can tell she means
it. So you find yourself saying it back
and you find you are smiling.