You wake in the darkness,
eyes closed, vision blurry

The world is beautiful
and wholly painted in soft contours and indistinct shades
of dark
and light

Today is your birthday

You hope--so much--for a fresh start
We all do.

The promise of a new year washes over you
a baptism
of wisdom
and time.
The taint of last year is lost
amongst the burst balloons on the concrete

You find yourself getting older,
growing up because you have been freed
unbound from the lead chains of last year

Suddenly buoyant, you are uncertain
of what to do
but you find yourself sinking into your own familiar skin,
with the feathery tickle of confetti still reverberating in your fingertips