Nineteen Ninety Nine

Nineteen Ninety Nine

A symbol tells us that we should party
because this year is the year it is

Lou tells us that the day is perfect
and that he's glad he spent it with us

Twin harmonica players duet in the living room,
busking along with the pulse of dance music

Bizarrely, people sing along to "Rhinestone Cowboy",
voices raised in earnest, without hint of irony

We three toast the new year at the crossroads
holding miniature drams like Burns characters

The slow walk home, purposeful and mannered,
mind numbed by drink, blissfully unaware of the time.