On New Year’s Eve: Poetry by Joyce Anderson

 I dance with the dead
 extending my hands to
 an ever-expanding circle
 of passed loved ones and friends.
 Holding fast to their memories
 I dance about the room
 to the beat of the moment,
 circling round and round
 moving through time
 back to the beginning
      as life ticks away to a
      celebrative finale.

 And when the countdown begins…
 I bow to the past,
      releasing my hold—
      ready to take
      each day as it comes.
 I embrace the unknowable future.
                             Jaka