New Year End
This year will end like thousands before
Though the weather may be a little warmer
Across the seas there’s another war
Perhaps more foreign or more bloody than the former
More ice from the poles has gone astray
So, the jet stream, next year, may lose its way
Changing some frozen sea to slush
As politicians push to have their say
About which migrant camp they should move or crush
We wait to see what next year will bring
After the season that we’ve defined as year-end
When some people decide it’s the moment to sing
And when suddenly their enemy becomes their friend
But now climatic change is far more serious
The science no longer mysterious
Whatever the average person has thought
Of statements that once seemed delirious
Some may listen, next year, to what teachers have taught
Next year will be one when we’ll eat less meat
Some will make that costless donation to society
To many it may seem too gargantuan a feat
Others may require an alcoholic’s sobriety
There will be benefits for the so-called ecology
And for the participants’ personal physiology
Hopefully, fewer animals will suffer
From the torturers’ violent pathology
And the hunter’s life will be much tougher
Yes, the new year might be genuinely new
When man might believe every moment of truth
No space for deniers their hate to spew
When the cynicism of age will give way to youth
It could be a year of compassion
When less notice is taken of followers of fashion
The planet’s year-end is nigh
Though we should care for it with a passion
Our chance to save it might still pass us by