Just now, walking back from next door,
(five days in and none too soon)
it felt like the new year. Something about
the cold air, maybe,
or the gibbous moon,
something about the clarity of the dark sky

Quick as the steps through the dark,
well known enough that I wouldn’t trip
on the rough ground,
I felt a sort of whirring,
a clicking in of hope, of stamina —
I looked up — something inside said
OK, I’m ready,
ready to launch.

©Wendy Mulhern
January 5, 2020