Ode to 2016
Written by: Jen Sparkman
To you I honor you,
For you are like a flower that slowly wilts in a misty shadow,
The year for envy, love, misogyny and triumph,
The You in all Yous,
You're more perfect than Helvetica,
Misadventures, dead ends, elections and malfunctions,
To go forward you must go backwards,
Tests, GRE, patients, waiting, and Whole Foods,
Long afternoons in a lazy summer heat,
Beauty wrapped up in wine hazed memories,
Vows, romance, couples, loneliness,
Relationships happen when you’re not looking,
Stop looking for a relationship,
Shakespeare and the death of You,
Missing hands, and one man’s love,
Fierce powerful Zen spirit,
Honesty, words, time, space, endings,
Stupid mistakes, and missed opportunities,
New friendships, renewed faith, that little white church,
Crushes, flings and misguided nights out,
Searching for the truth,
While standing on a mountain overlooking,
Hobbits, farms and a best friend,
Long plane rides, inner self, fear, and reconciliation,
New beginnings fall upon the summer air,
Sweet, sweaty couches full of maracas and teakettles on fire,
Peppermint, Alpine, fires and raindrops,
Dedication to honoring those before you,
Road trips, unexpected ideas and abandoned waterparks,
Hiking, treetops, wisdom tree, deep conversations,
9am, coffee, bibles, and beautiful prayers,
Juarez, Alvin, Trolls and singing will never go out of style,
Indie movies, funny coincidences and weird stop motion sex scenes,
White winter hymnal, red foxes and Christmas,
To you 2016 I will remember thee,
You were full of life, love and thousands of stories that will never get written down.
