As 2021 begins, rather than subject you to a blow by blow summary post on social media, I offer you this poem about 2020, a year that was a collective "WTF?" In the spirit of "womp womp womp," the poem is accompanied by a photo of the seeds I planted during quarantine that.... grew into thriving sunflowers, a metaphor for our resilience and strength amid the pandemic. Er... just kidding. Most failed to sprout and the ones that did quickly withered and died.
Happy New Year! For the love of God, may this one be better.
New Year’s Eve
2020 wasn’t great
In fact, not good at all
For most, the year was just a string
Of bummers big and small
We made our vision boards
But they soon came crashing down
Our to do lists were upended
When corona came to town
The brand-new year before us
Didn’t match up with our plans
The universe called out to us
“Shut up and wash your hands!”
In March we made some #Goals
Grew plants, baked homemade bread
By May, we barely brushed our teeth
And all the plants were dead
Our Pinterest boards
Once full of clever projects
Soon went stale
Our “recipe a day” collections
Deemed an epic fail
Now we Google “what are days?”
Is time even a thing?
And thank the Lord that Taylor Swift
Still felt like she could sing
The news shows are a mess
But the memes just keep improving
Our pets are glued upon our laps
And swear they’re never moving
We’ve taught our elders how to Zoom
At least, we’ve bravely tried
We’ve worn our crusty sweatsuits
Watched old TV and cried
Spent too much time on WebMD
Had acne from our masks
Felt wildly accomplished for doing basic tasks
Refreshed our browsers many times
And realized, with despair
That the same five Apple news alerts
And emails are still there
And somehow, here we sit
Another New Year’s Eve
No platitudes can change the fact
That there’s a lot to grieve
But maybe we’ll come through this
With a little more compassion
With fewer judgey comments
On one another’s fashion
…I truly think that you look hot
In gray from head to toe
And I still think you’re awesome
If your basil didn't grow
If you didn’t do Zoom yoga
Pick up French or learn to skate
If all you did was cry and eat
I still think that you’re great
It’s a legendary feat
To make it through the day
Can we all agree that Pinterest
Is bullshit anyway?
One day we’ll look back
And we won’t think about our hair
Our neighbor Karen’s sourdough
Or pictures in neat squares
We’ll remember all the loved ones
Who helped carry us through
All the folks who lent a hand
And all the hearts that grew
And all the healthcare heroes
Who gave their very best
Whose brilliant minds and gentle hands
Helped conquer this great test
Here’s to 2021
With better days ahead
We’ve all had our fill
Of existential dread
So, let’s make room for joy
Push this shitshow out the door
And think about a future
Full of hugs galore!
I have a bunch of hugs
That are sorely overdue
And you can rest assured
That one is meant for you.