As the clock ticks closer to midnight
the pale old man sighs aloud
and puts his book down on his bedside table
it will soon be time for his transformation
when he becomes a young baby once more

These 12 months have not been kind to him
many scars and marks cover his face and body
each one is a memory
of those who have died in violence this year

The clock strikes the new year with a resounding crash
the old man fades away
in his place a baby appears
looking slowly around the room
before unleashing a brilliant smile
to the light of a million fireworks

As the year passes he will age
and become an old man again
there is much to do while the year is young
a full 12 months of learning to be had
a whole new set of chapters to be written
he starts to crawl towards the future
whatever it may bring for all