The document reflects on the coming of a new year, noting how the lights in the house have grown dull compared to the firecrackers exploding in the distance. It questions what happened to the laughter and glow of children that used to be present, and whether the angel's voice still rises in song or snore. As a new year dawns, the author observes that both those in joy and pain, as well as those in need or prosperity, all yearn for the same inner peace.

1. And a New Year Dawns Upon Us.
Several hours to a New Year
And the lights in the House appear dull,
Matted against the glow of firecrackers exploding yonder beyond,
In hidden neighbourhoods,
Like silent screams of past years
Dark moons of eras gone illumined again.
What happened to the laughter of the child around us?
Where is the glow of the eyes, the fatted legs, the cherub cheeks?
T
The angel’s voice rising in a song or bellowing in snore?
Whatever happened to Baby Jane, as the movie classic glowers in
neon sign.
A New Year dawns upon us mortals,
Those in joy, and in pain, those in need and in boom
Clamoring the same smile,
Yearning for the same serenity,
The tide of everlasting peace to cascade in Everyone’s Heart.
From Gene Pagkanlungan’s Poetry 12-31-13