A toast to the year that happened.
\nTimes gone by.
\nIt was a good comrade.
\nIt opened its doors so faithfully.
\nQuieted the raucous argument of elections
\nwith rain.
\nThe still compassionate rain
\nthat calms the heart.
\nThat softens the wilderness around us.
\nIt was a good year.
\nI met beautiful people,
\nreaching out to others,
\ntaking care of children,
\nputting food on the table,
\nand saw prayers on their faces
\nas they went about their chores,
\ntook walks, washed windows.<\/p>\n
For all the hurricanes and storms
\nthat tore down trees and ruined gardens,
\nit was a wonderful time
\nto feel the wind on one\u2019s face.
\nWatch the sky build villages of clouds,
\nsee a movie
\nthat told a story about human life,
\nwith respect and gentleness.
\nIt was a banner year of people
\ntrying to help each other,
\ncelebrating life in the pageant
\nof the Olympics,
\nthe reaching out of nation to nation.
\nThe creation of a collider
\nthat rivals the pyramids,
\nthat will see the beginning of the world
\nand hear the wail of God or universe
\nbeing born.<\/p>\n
It was a year when we held out our arms
\nto the earth and said,
\nno more harm to the mother
\nthat gives us our chance to find
\nthe heaven we seek.
\nNow, for its tattered clothes
\nand empty dishes,
\nlet us wash and clean them,
\nput them on hangers and shelves.
\nSweep the floor, repair the debt
\nwe owe to table and chairs,
\nand walls marked by our living,
\nand leave 2008, a year
\nthat deserves our admiration and care.
\nIt was a year to be born,
\nto grow up in,
\nto die, if our time had come,
\nwithout regret,
\nand remember it with happiness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A toast to the year that happened. Times gone by. It was a good comrade. It opened its doors so faithfully. Quieted the raucous argument…<\/p>\n