New Year's Tradition

Living on a peninsula in Florida Deborah and I have a tradition to which we adhere On how we usher out the old, and welcome the new year. New Year’s Eve we drive out to the beach to watch the sunset...and then We wake up New Year’s morning to watch it rise again. The sunset is usually very quiet, it’s one of those moments I adore The only sounds perceptible are waves crashing against the shore. If we’re lucky the night is clear with a few a clouds dotting the sky Then soon the heavens are filled with colors as the old year says goodbye. The sunrise starts in darkness, you don’t want to say a word As the morning belongs to the ocean and the sound of waking birds. The horizon begins to brighten even before the sun arrives Then slowly, like an artist, colors are painted across the sky. But the last sunset of 2013 did not show up that night Setting behind a dark grey curtain and well out of our sight. The next morning the sun once again decided to stay away Choosing to rise behind the cover of a sky still cloaked in grey. No we didn’t see the sun set or rise, but in the end we didn’t mind For the moments were filled with beauty and wonders of another kind. We searched for shells, wrote in the sand, and walked along the beach We saw dolphins, and watched pelicans fly just out of our reach. We realized as we stood there far from the maddening crowds It matters not if we see the sun or it’s shrouded in the clouds. What matters is the moment not the climate or the weather And the fact that, whatever happens, we’re sharing it together. Overall, rain or shine, this is a tradition we will extend So we’ll be back same time and place when this year finally ends. And up again the next morning as the two years overlap (Now It’s time for another tradition the mid-day New Year’s nap.)