Life appears as a sea of disease,
with waves that whelm woefully,
while wisdom wails from the deep,
"Perhaps in pain, they'll notice me".

What a mess we've made,
foolish game we've played,
the scene is tense,
at what expense?

Nonetheless we must not cower to fear in this new year.

Be cruelly kind,
frightfully fearless,
expedietly patient,
drunkenly sober.

Believe a better story,
knead a neater narrative,
apathy is insidious,
for every sickening sad tale,
seek a double dose of positive too.

There is a call to resolve,
till the final curtain creeps,
there is a call to dissolve,
till one's final baited breath,
there is a call to live in love,
embodied and embellished,
laying awake with a dream of a better day in the face of apparent decay,
putting on the full shield,
we must not yield,
either hand is the upper hand,
having done all we can, we must stand.