new year

11:54 pm EST 2012
i ran away from a city blazing in my wool mittens and fur hood
what would i tell them if i escaped?
i swear i met the devil tonight i swear she had no necklace or adornments only black lips and ridiculous phrases (isn't it stupid that there's a law that you can't drink and drive?) and oh god, oh god my little leopard print shoes could not get me away fast enough.
it wasn't midnight, not yet. i had time to turn and toast a glowing, green, horrifying skyline. glittering zombie hoards rushing, pushing past me. a parade of hundreds of regrets waiting to happen. i tripped and stumbled by the leering freaks in front of the porno store. empty old grain silo i'd climbed four winters ago with friends i never remember. over the rail road tracks, no loitering sign in the shadow of neon, i opened a small bottle of champagne and said i hope i'm a million miles away next year. or i hope i'm not awake at all. fuck you. and i drank, and threw the bottle. ran and ran and into the car. locked the door, and turned on the safe music just as the fireworks exploded in red and gold spazms over that rotten town.
but, this year is different, i would tell them.
it's not the town or the people. it's me.