new

if the silence creeps about me on the dawn of this new year,
i will not give in to its deceptions.

i will no longer wait for stronger lifeblood.
or pine for someone else's joys.

i will swallow all that needs swallowing
and neglect to notice all the incidents that drive me wild.

with a lifeblood all my own--and not my own--
i live in no vicarious survival,
i live with the new year's reminder of some wild and pure redemption.