Happy New Year!

'Tis the Year of the Snake
And combined
With the thirteenth year
This new year
Is considered by some
To be an omen of bad luck

But in some traditions
The snake is representative of
Inner power
And thirteen is the number
Of enlightenment
And change

Today
Despite the cold and wet
Londoners were out
En masse
Celebrating the Chinese New Year
Chinatown was packed
With queues out the door
Of every restaurant
The pedestrianized streets
Filled with people
Waving paper dragons
And popping crackers
And even with the dreary weather
The mood was festive and bright

Tonight it snowed
The cold weather
Finally paying off

To choose
To not buy into fear
And superstition
To choose to believe
It can and does get better
To make sense of
And make use of
One's own inner power
To learn
And seek
And grow
And be at peace with myself
That is the new year
I want to celebrate

The end.