With blind
trust

as though
through the Chunnel

under the English Channel
we will travel in darkness

to greet
the new year

meet
and pump the hand
of fate


and it will seem
as normal as the day

before
more of the same

jokes songs
and stories

but there will
be a feeling that
we cannot shake

a momentum
pulling us forward
causing us

to look one last time
and salute all the things
that served us well

then bob for other apples
and trust
they’re more juicy crisp and new

Whit Howland © 2019