This Monday morning a persistent drizzle glazed the cold streets with ice, and just like the last year ended daylight stays elusive behind burdensome clouds like last year’s missiles and drones have targeted Kyev’s infrastructure. We have electricity and water, but we try to use them sparingly. The sense that this year will walk in the same bleak footsteps as last year did. Last year I remember being hopeful that the pandemic was coming to an end.
I spent the second day of the new year in front of my work computer without any clear purpose in sight. Tomorrow I will likely go to an empty office.
no other colors
than the lustrous remains
of dead fireworks
Today we open at dVerse again and Kim hosts Haibun Monday. The theme is to write about your thoughts when the new year starts.
Jan 2, 2023
Björn Rudbergs writings 
Powerful writing to keep us aware…
This is incredibly potent, Bjorn! I can picture the lustrous remains of those dead fireworks so clearly here. We live in troubled times.
Happy New Year, Björn! Your opening sentence made me shiver – we’ve had sunshine yesterday and today, and I was able to get out for a walk on both days after a month-long chest infection. I agree with you about the year walking “in the same bleak footsteps as last year”, but I live in hope. I’m so glad I don’t have to go to work anymore. Your haibun sums up your feelings so well.
Bleak as the dead fireworks and fallen tree (photo). I hope each day will be brighter for you as we approach the spring season. Tomorrow, I will work from home (first day) and on Wed, going back to the office for free tea and coffee as treats.
Spot on Bjorn. I’m not sure about this year either but I try to be hopeful.
Comparing the clouds to the dropping missiles gives similar feelings of dread. The fallen tree in the gray day fits right in with the gloomy atmosphere. The icy streets give a sense of powerlessness over what is happening.
“The sense that this year will walk in the same bleak footsteps as last year did. ” – I think this line sums it up.
That final image. Powerful description of the post-holiday hollow feeling. I am also back in front of classes tomorrow. Hoping my silliness will see me through. Happy New Year!
So many images from bleak snow and darkness to the fireworks, before and after. Strong haibun, Bjorn. Happy new year to you.
That is a bleak start, I hope you see some light and colors in the future.
This is very bleak, Bjorn. I never feel like this is the real start of the year. September is one new beginning, and February the next – when the days really feel longer, and the spring growth starts! I hope you have a better year than last – I hope we all do.
I feel the same dread, like we are caught in a loop. The “persistent drizzle” is such an effective image.
That’s a bleak start… You’re past the winter solstice now, so hopefully at least the days will be getting brighter now.
Nothing has seemed the same since Covid. Many kf us feel like we are merely going through the motion of living. Time passes by with few memories so each year feels the same. We are living in a sad and confused world.
A bleak poem, Bjorn. So well expressed.
Love the haiku!