Bonfire

Soon comes the reckoning –
You’ve pushed it off as long as you can
You’ve had your cocktails 
And long winter naps 
And you’ve read your books
And binged your shows 
And you’ve swallowed whole tins of cookies and cakes
And now you stand with your hands over your eyes
Like a monkey emoji

Before tomorrow even comes 
The weight of it is heavy 
The days just grim numbers like your bank account
Like your weight
Like the number of hours in the day 
Like another year done and gone

Maybe you can skip it altogether with 
A countdown to summer, 
Or spring vacation,
Or a box of tissues and a tight grip on what you’ve already lost

Lets burn it all down; all our fears about what may come
All our grief about what we’ve left behind;
Put it in huge piles made of cartons and boxes and bills
Of wrappings and trappings and glitter 
Let’s gather in circles around great fires
Made of old regret and worn out decision

Let’s decide to love this life 
Wholeheartedly 
And engulf our worry in the
Heat of right now;

There is nowhere to hide in the open field
The only thing that will withstand the burn
Is the sky full of stars
And a heart full of wonder.

We’ll let the sparks climb up the darkness
In clusters and alone
Lifting us off the dread and debris,
And leading our gaze 
Somewhere new.