A Vow Beneath the Crowd

On New Year’s Eve the city buzzed like sparkling wine,<break time="1.0s" /> bright glasses clinked, a thousand doors

said mine. Invitations bloomed like fireworks in air— come dance,

come drink, come lose yourself somewhere.<break time="1.0s" /> I tried on futures as if trying on a dress:

a midnight kiss from strangers, a reckless yes; a table loud with friends and borrowed

cheer, the glittered promise of another year.<break time="1.0s" /> But hope, that quiet animal

in me,<break time="1.0s" /> curled by the window, patient as the sea.<break time="1.0s" /> Your name arrived the way a prayer

is sent— unasked, insistent, and gently permanent. You are my north,

though sometimes it gets lost in snow, God-sent confusion teaching us to grow.