A New Year

It is a quiet day,
much like any other,
except for the awareness
that a page,
all used up,
every line and margin filled,
has turned.

The emptiness of this new page
gives a moment of silent pause,
an opening to possibility,
a reason to let go
of the burdens of the past.

And, oh,
how the body,
the mind,
the spirit
yearn
for the healing that comes
with a new beginning.

By Maria Brady-Smith
Photo by Mike Smith