As the year 2014 winds down, sliding along the wet ground like a shadow, I think of times gone by, of poems written and read, of friends made and kept, of walks along the boardwalk and countless sunsets that made me want to cry and sing at the same time. I think of family weddings, graduations, losses, triumphs.

If there is any message I'd like to impart here it is this:

Be for one another.

Don't worry about the days and nights gone, don't regret, don't wallow. Just be for one another.


I credit my Abenaki and Scots ancestry for the ability to access long memory, the sense of being part of something that began long long ago and continues infinitely through what we leave behind, a fingerprint on the pages of history we turn, the book we leave open for the next reader. To that end, I have placed here on my blog the Scots version of Auld Lang Syne. It's melody is different from what is sung elsewhere. I prefer it. But whatever version YOU enjoy, the message is clear:

Be for one another; be kindness; be of long memory.

2015, I welcome you, with a full heart and a full pen.