Times Square New Years Poem

by Janet
(Odell, IL, USA)

Being from a small town, the best New Year's celebration I ever had was actually watching the ball drop in Times Square. It was a Dick Clark's New Years celebration. I had watched him many times on television as a child and was awed by the excitement and grand tradition.

I used to say that one day I would be a part of that celebration. Then, many years later a college friend was going home to New York for the holiday and invited me to go with her.

So at the age of thirty-one, years after I had first dreamed of going there, I had the opportunity. The excitement of going was not as grand as it would have been when I was a child, but it was still a dream coming true.

We were barely on the ground at JFK when my stomach started to quiver. I had never been in a city that large, so I was a little intimidated. We taxied to our hotel, then took a walk just to have a look.

It was around 10:00 am, not even close to the start of the celebration, and there were wall-to-wall people. I remember thinking, "How are we going to see anything, these buildings are so tall?"

As the time neared for the celebration, we headed into Times Square. The crowds were tremendous!

The closer we came, the lights were more bright and the more I could see. Finally, I saw him! It was Dick Clark, the man I had watched on television as a little girl.

He had not changed at all in my mind. I was "star struck" by him. He was the essence of New Year tradition to me.

At that moment I didn't care about the hustle and bustle. I didn’t care about the cold and crowds. My dream as a little girl had just came true. I was in Times Square, on New Year's Eve, and Dick Clark was on stage in front of me. It was magical!

Times Square New Years Poem

The people are bundled, the air is quite brisk.
Some say that frostbite just might be a risk.

The time is no different, the place is the same,
the person who's speaking, we all know by name.

Yet still by the thousands we come to rejoice,
to listen intently to the sound of his voice.

A tradition so grand, in a city so large,
we stand here in awe of the man who's in charge.

The words of his voice 'fore the bell starts to chime,
we watch with much wonder the ball dropping in time.

An occasion so joyous we spread the good cheer,
the countdown has ended to bring in the new year!