New Year’s Eve
5 p.m., corner booth,
Oak Bar, Plaza Hotel,
New York City, Center
of the World of all
that matters.
Where a Belvedere martini,
up with a twist, contemplates you
like a languid gold fish
in a clear garden pool,
or a suspended tear
that you can take back inside,
like that first full breath,
in case you need it,
as the world gets ready
to start all over again again.
Oak Bar, Plaza Hotel,
New York City, Center
of the World of all
that matters.
Where a Belvedere martini,
up with a twist, contemplates you
like a languid gold fish
in a clear garden pool,
or a suspended tear
that you can take back inside,
like that first full breath,
in case you need it,
as the world gets ready
to start all over again again.
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Disclaimer
We do not accept unsolicited submissions. American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2019 by Warren Woessner, "New Year’s Eve," from Exit – Sky, (Holy Cow! Press, 2019). Poem reprinted by permission of Warren Woessner and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2024 by The Poetry Foundation.