The new year brings hope
A day like any other
Becomes an opportunity

I watch the animals
They don’t know the calendar
And live in hope all of the days

The cat sits motionless in the morning dew
Staring at the gopher hole
Less patient, the dog quivers and wags at the doorway

On our walk, a fresh day
The sun loosening its rays
Over a still-slumbering scene

Back home I turn to a new page
To Do at the top, neat numbers following
1 to 83 by the time I’ve finished

Too small jeans hang ready in my closet
Two feet of library books teeter on my desk
And I write the first sentence

Hope
It surrounds me
As the new year dawns