to reward us with an orange

2005 has been a bittersweet year (but then, most years are, hm?), and as I was thinking about it today, I was reminded of this poem by Pablo Neruda, "Esperemos" (We Are Waiting). It may be a trifle depressing, especially since this is a Happy New Year greeting, or maybe it's just honest. Anyway, I bought oranges at the store earlier and everything, so:

There are days that haven't arrived yet,
that are being made
like bread or chairs or a product
from the pharmacies or the woodshops:
there are factories of days to come:
they exist, craftsmen of the soul
who raise and weigh and prepare
certain bitter or beautiful days
that arrive suddenly at the door
to reward us with an orange
or to instantly murder us.

-- Pablo Neruda, "We Are Waiting"

So there it is. Yeah. Kind of depressing. Sorry about that.

Let's just forget about Pablo for a minute so I can say thanks for the kindness and the laughs and the sympathy and the earrings. It's been swell. And here's hoping that 2006 rocks the proverbial casbah with many many many orange reward days. Cheers and Happy New Year!