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Soon, each one of us will be taken
By dark powers under this ground
That drove us here, that warped us.
Not one of us got it his own way.
Nothing like any one of us
Will be seen again, forever.
Each of us held some noble shape in mind.
It seemed better that we kept alive.
—W. D. Snodgrass, 1926-2009
p>2009, I won’t miss you much. What a long, hard, greedy year you were.
At least, that’s how it seemed to me these past few months, though I guess that’s just
another construct, personalizing one span of time, the most recent of
so many. Like one year is that different from any other. People die every day, notable or not, andothers getborn.
Struggle, strife, glory and celebration, a continuum. Maybe you gave as good as you took away, 2009.
A toast to all of those gone, to all the newly arrived, and to each of us somewhere in between. And to Athenae and the rest of you, the First Draft family, thanks for making this digital gathering place so warm and bright.
Tell us about your year: what you celebrated, what you lost, what you won’t be sorry to leave behind, what you’ll miss the most, what you’ll remember forever.
Cheers.