I know better
now
than to expect the perfection
of a new year.
I eat the lentils, the sausage,
and lean into tradition—and flavor—
rather than sorcery.
Zelenskyy spoke in his war-torn country,
We haven’t lost anything. It was taken from us.
The fires humans start.
The trees humans plant.
How we can do both.
Every day of every year, we make choices.
This morning I’ll write,
water this African violet—
like the one my grandmother had
on her window sill—
and look for buds.
Chloe Yelena Miller is the author of Perforated (forthcoming from Lily Poetry Review Books (2026) and Viable (Lily Poetry Review Books (2021.) Miller is a recipient of three DC Arts and Humanities Fellowship (Individuals) grants. Along with Shasta Grant, she’s a co-founder of Brown Bag Lit. Contact her and read some of her work at www.chloeyelenamiller.com.