Happy 2016

Say good-by to the old year;

Say hello to the new.

Let go of the past and try to recast

A new and exciting you.

Say good riddance to all of your worries;

Start out fresh and clean.

Surely you'll find peace of mind

And a happy 2016!

 

The past year started out in sadness

With tragic shootings in France

At the Charlie Hebdo offices. And then

We ended our romance

With Brian Williams on the Nightly News.

The death of Freddie Gray

Strengthened the Black Lives Matter Movement

That carries on today.

Caitlyn Jenner came out to the world;

We said good-by to Bruce.

Trump declared his candidacy.

We thought he'd cook his own goose.

Murders in a Charleston church occurred;

The killer liked to brag

About his cache of weapons while

Waving the Confederate flag.

 

Refrain…

 

June brought a landmark decision in rights:

Marriage rights for all!

Trump rallied his followers around

The idea of building a wall.

A nuclear deal with Iran was made

That some people found a disgrace.

Bernie Sanders energized

The Democratic base.

Hillary Clinton's emails became

A controversial story.

Clerk Kim Davis marched to jail

In her self-righteous blaze of glory.

Pope Francis came to the United States.

Syrian emigrants fled

Their war-torn country seeking refuge.

"Deport immigrants," Trump said.

 

Refrain…

 

Hillary dealt with an eleven-hour grilling:

Ho hum…the Benghazi attacks.

Speaker Boehner announced his retirement

And gave himself the ax.

Paris suffered again through terrorist

Shootings in November

That were followed by San Bernardino's

Terrorist attacks in December.

On a promising note, one hundred ninety-five

Nations worked to arrange

A landmark accord to unite to slowdown

The pace of climate change.

We've barely skimmed the surface here

Of the year's ups and downs.

Here's to hoping that next year brings

Many more smiles than frowns.

 

And so…

Say good-by to the old year;

Say hello to the new.

Let go of the past and try to recast

A new and exciting you.

Say good riddance to all of your worries;

Start out fresh and clean.

Surely you'll find peace of mind

And a happy 2016!

 

(12-31-15)

Reviews

[minisla]

Needle in a haystack so much stuff going on you couldn't document everything I guess.

[cloud]

Despite losing the beat of the rhythm (I'm guessing there is supposed to be one?) within the poem, this is well written. Touching on past events brings back the year in review in a creative way.