The Vibrant Channeled Creator

illustrator: Julia Rohan Zoch

The New Year 
by Barbara Crooker

When a door bangs shut, a window doesn’t open.


Sometimes, it slams on your fingers. God often


gives us more than we can handle. A sorrow


shared is a sorrow multiplied. There’s a bottle


of Champagne waiting to be uncorked,


but it’s not for you. Nobody wants another poem.


The prize-winning envelope has someone else’s name


on it. This year you already know you’re not going


to lose those ten pounds. How can you feel hope,


when the weight of last year’s rejections is enough


wants to feel the black ink unscrolling on its skin.


In spite of everything, you sit at your desk and begin.

“The New Year” by Barbara Crooker from Some Glad Morning © 2019.