COUNTING DOWN

In just a few hours timezones around the world will be ringing in the new year.
2009 will be closed.
A busy year, a noisy noisy year,
A year with so much of the world on the move.

Soon it will all be hushed...

Silence. Stillness. A global holding-of-breath.

And then, in the quiet of night as fireworks turn to fading sparkles,
the page will turn,
ending a chapter full of words, edits, scribbles and bold punctuation,
revealing 365 blank pages to be written upon.
Clean new pages - rich, textureful parchment lying still. Sharp black ink waiting patiently.
The next pages of the story.
The gift which each new year brings to a world, connected.

Happy New Year.