It is the last day of 2020
A time to say goodbye
To a year of troubles

We have learned
Who we are collectively
And what we must do
For the sake of our children
For the sake of each other
And for the sake of the planet

For what we have lost
We grieve
And for what we have learned
We are grateful

The closer together we are

The stronger the attraction

The further apart

The weaker the pull

Goodbye friend
Life for you
Was troubled and dark
In the end
You felt too alone
To survive this world

Goodbye friend
Although you are gone too soon
Drowned in a sea of swallowed pills
I still feel your presence

Goodbye friend
I hope that our prayers
Will touch your life
As it journeys through the cosmos
And direct you towards
The happiness you deserve
In your next life

Goodbye friend
In the end
A darkness dominated your final days
But we know your natural state
Was one of light and life

Goodbye friend
We will miss you
And we regret that you weren’t able
To come through it all
To experience a different life

This is who I am
This is all I’ve got
It may be rather ordinary
But it’s also quite a lot

I may not have a mansion
Or a Lamborghini car
I don't have a very high IQ
And I'm not married to a movie star

I celebrate the ordinary
As something quite profound
Because it is the ordinary
That make the world go round

The famous may be enviable
In their own particular way
But I'd rather be without pretence
Being ordinary every day

So rejoice at being ordinary
It’s greater than they say
Because your particular 'ordinary'
Is extraordinary in every way

There is always something
That can be done
To make a difference

Don’t give up hope

There is the joy of nature
The symphony of bird song at dawn
The warmth of the sun

Don’t give up hope

The sound of a friendly voice
A greeting from a stranger
The purring of a cat

Don’t give up hope

The embrace of a loved one
A meal shared with others
A good night’s sleep

Don’t give up hope

Don’t give up hope

Don’t give up hope

It is important to know
That the hurt
That is caused
Injures the perpetrator most of all

It enters their life
And blends with their soul
Becoming part of who they are

Their legacy, their role on the stage of life
Becomes tarnished
Only redeemable by realisation, absolute apology
And commitment to work on reparations without ceasing
Until the wrongs that have been wrought
Are put to right

Time marches onwards
And is sometimes generous to wrongdoers
Although, sadly for others
Is less so, and redemption evades them

Isn’t it easier to let go
Than to keep holding on
To things as they were

Isn’t it wiser
To be taken down the river
Than to fight the current of the times

Isn’t it braver
To say what you really think
Than to try and please the people you think you ought to?

Isn’t it certain
That the times are changing
And the best we can do is change with them?