On the last day of a horror show of a year
You might be thinking next year has to be better
Possibly believing happy times will be returning
Not expecting the worst is yet to come
Or you could be an optimist like me
Confident in the capacity of people to overcome
To organize and eventually achieve a better world
While still recognizing the trouble ahead
In a capitalist economy creating increasing poverty
With a capitalist government rigged against democracy
And a capitalist medical system skewed by profit
With the basic needs of so many going unmet
From the disaster of the pandemic response fiasco
Compounded by the chaos of haphazard inoculation
Here desperate people are waiting in line overnight
Hoping to get the vaccine that is supposed to save us
And what else would you expect in this system
With pharmaceutical companies competing not cooperating
With no overall coordinated consistent plan in place
With little or no public health funding and staff to do it
And what will happen next two weeks from now
When many thoughtless revelers are gathering tonight
Intoxicated by their risky behavior as if they will survive
When already the hospitals are in utter crisis
How long do you suppose before the next crash
That is sure to come again and again under capitalism
Already here for the millions upon millions unemployed
Already the mass evictions in process as the new year arrives
So what will it be then given what we know
There is a better way for us if we take it
May the new year bring a great upsurge in the struggle
Demanding a completely new approach
