By Donald Nitchie
May you reach it like a beachhead
and hold it like a surprise inheritance
and may you enjoy it
even if you don’t deserve it
May the objects of your affection
not shun you and even approach
like pets that know you will feed them
May your power stay on and your pipes not freeze
May you evade crazed hair nosy neighbors chronic Lyme
bad oysters scathing reviews rogue waves
poor investments and penniless relatives
May your family succeed and your enemies falter
May your gardens be bountiful
and your upgrades not fail
May you trend
May your mirrors adorn
or at least not break
at the sight of you
May you be visited by tears
of gratitude not despair and may you
be lonely only seldom
The future doesn’t care
To it you’re just another tourist
If the future pulls you over
in a town you’ve never been to
don’t ask Why
Just smile and hope the future likes your face
reminding it of someone it used to know
when it was younger
May the future let you go with just a warning
and even a report on road conditions up ahead
So many likelihoods besides happiness
bridge out black ice bad brakes
loss of heart
sense or steam not to mention
life and limb
may you postpone them all
until the following year
Donald Nitchie’s poetry collection, “Driving Lessons,” was published in 2007; he lives in Chilmark.
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