A Poem for 2021 (post by Jane Stapleton)

 Dear 2021

Such expectation weighs on your shoulders.

Your loyal followers cling to the hope you embody,

Their arms wrapped around your waist and ankles-like chains.

Dragging you down.

You trip.

…A false start.

Shackled before you can find your stride.

But you will.

As spring glistens,

you will stand taller and taller,

feeling the wind on your face

and the air in your lungs!

One foot in front of the other,

again and again and again ...

Faster and faster you will run towards the sun-towards the light.

Leaving behind the darkest memories

of suffocation

and a time etched in lifeless stone.

You will break free and take

the lucky ones with you.

And the weight on your shoulders

will lift as the baton passes to

your steadfast successor.

Ready to run -

towards the next horizon.

By Philippa Davies

World Poetry Day 2021