New Year's Schmoo Year's
poem schmoem, am I right?
You may or may not have noticed that we entered a new year last week. Now, comes the few months of retraining your muscle memory to write a new number at the end of every date and another second or two of calculating your age when prompted.
I don’t do the whole resolution thing so, we won’t have a conversation about those. That’s not to say, however, that I don’t have goals for the new year, specifically about the Common Denominator. Your support over the last year since I began this newsletter in earnest has been incredible. I’ll see friends - or get texts from friends - and they’ll mention pieces I’ve written that they found notable that will spark new conversations.
It’s been a gratifying experience because it shows that not only has someone taken the time to read something I wrote, but that I said something that resonated with them.
In the new year, I hope to continue growing this newsletter, my growth as a writer, and the dialogue that we’ve started together. If there are things you’d like me to dig into that you haven’t had time for - or don’t want to ask ChatGPT - let me know, and we can learn simultaneously. If there are pieces from last year you want updates on, drop me a comment and we’ll get abreast of the issue. If you want me to write about sports less, I can’t help you there.
In 2019, my wife and I threw a holiday party at our house; for the event, I wrote a New Year’s poem. Aside from songs - which I don’t think count anyway - I hadn’t written a poem since I was a teenager. It was a tradition I thought I should continue each year, and while I don’t think this is quite my fourth consecutive effort, the trend is at least one of success.
I don’t keep a journal, but it’s nice to leave different breadcrumb trails to yourself to revisit the undulations of your past self. You can get a real sense of what you were thinking about, what was happening in the world, and how you interacted with it if you record your thoughts. So, for better or worse, here are mine for 2024.
Schmoo Year’s
New Year's Schmoo Year's
how's about a few tears
how's about we drink a few beers
while the foam rolls down our hands, cheers
New Year's Schmoo Year's
let's go find your garden shears
let's cut your hair and leave it heres
how about some new oil for some old gears
New Year's who cares
you do, you cares
how about you sit over theres
while I work on some new stares
New Year's same days
empty drinks on empty trays
who says I can't have a mournful gaze
and still entertain my childish ways
New Year's says who
you do, that's who
let's sing songs about things that are true
hold each other and laugh and go boo-hoo
New Year's what for
how's about a new war
same as the next one and the one before
aw let's stop now I'm already sore
New Year's starts when
nothing but sin in the hearts of men
nothing but fun in the lion's den
cant save it all when the ship's going in
New Year's so what
doors open, doors shut
Houdini died from a punch to the gut
it might not rain, don't say tut tut
New Year's why not
soup's on, dinner's hot
might as well get it while it's there to be got
if you need a break I'll save your spot
New Year's Schmoo Year's
new plans, all ears
let's write letters to all our dears
might not be half bad living in the new year's