2024 was an interesting year. Economic concerns, the Summer Olympics, a presidential election, a move to a new school campus… It was good and bad and everything in between. We made a lot of memories, but there was also much we wanted to forget.
We asked our Grapevine staff: What part of 2024 would you like to “burn down?” To make it more challenging, we asked them to respond in the form of a poem.
Here are a few examples of what we call “Burning Down the Year.”
“Burning Procrastination” by Ayleen Alvarez
In the light of the fire,
Procrastination stands,
Stopping dreams, delaying plans,
Making paths hard to see.
As the flames touch it,
It falls apart,
A pile of wasted time,
A thief of moments.
But now, in the fire,
Its power fades away,
The chains it made are gone,
A new day begins, free at last.
“Procrastination” by Juan Gomez
Procrastination, a tempting snare,
“You have time to spare.”
Days slip by like nothing,
A fire ignites.
The flames consume each doubt,
Distractions begin to fade.
The path grows clear,
The time is now.
“Burning the Old Year” by Alexis Bravo
The Gym is packed again.
Machines are all taken.
A line for the bench rack
Sweat lingers in the air,
Too many people crammed in one place
Waiting, pacing, scrolling on their phones
I’d burn it all
Leave it all
The overcrowding
The noise
The endless wait for one bench
What’s left is quiet –
A space to move freely,
To focus,
To breathe…
“Burning Memories” by Lezzlie Cortez
They asked me: “If you could burn anything from 2024, what would you burn?”
my mind goes straight to you
I would burn the memories of us until it was ashes
I would burn the rose you gave me that I kept all these years
I would burn our text messages that I still look at late at night
I would burn away our love story like if it were an old diary
I would burn it if it meant I wouldn’t think of you anymore
the words don’t come out so I just say “old pictures”
“Burn Burn” by Geraldine Figueroa
Everyone turned so apathetic
There was a time when people felt emotion
Not only do they lack empathy
But education, and common sense
How can a country so powerful and rich
Be yet so poor among the poor and qualities?
When will be the year when there is change?
The bad in the world should turn into good
“Let Go” by Bee Giannadrea-Simpson
A million things I wish I could simply burn
thoughts, memories, people, feelings
It’s horribly amazing how many things
can stand above yourself
How to not let go?
They won’t leave your mind
no matter how much you try
how is it you beat yourself the most
more than anyone ever could
Only you make the worst days
don’t let things bother you,
or don’t forget
nothing defeats you
more than yourself
But, how to let go
of these things
that only make life harder?
How to stop thinking?
Things burn
but they never leave
your conscious
“The Monkey’s Fire” by Matenueil Martinez
Beneath the sky’s unyielding flame,
The monkey-faced his mother’s name.
Her words, once chains, now brittle bark,
He set ablaze to claim the dark.
The fire roared, her voice dissolved,
A life unbound, his heart resolved.
The ash would fall, the past erased,
Her shadow burned, no longer chased.
Through embers bright, he forged his way,
To greet the dawn, a lighter day.
“Burn the Stares” by Sydnee Sandoval
I dislike the word hate.
Similarities that fill the world with despair,
Surroundings with toxic humanity,
Feels similar to the word hate,
Yet all in one place.
Quick to jump to conclusions,
Disclose the case.
Burn the judgment.
Leave it in the past year.
“Assignments” by Olivia Simmons
Piles and piles of assignments
Losing track of time well into the night
Work long overdue with nowhere to turn
These are the things I wish to burn
Up late typing mindlessly
No time to waste no time for fun
No one to help understand the mess
This habit will come undone
The year will stretch on
More time for conversations
More time to spend free
More time for others is important to me
“A Friendship” by Staicy Urbano
In the corner of my mind,
a friendship once held dear
now turns to ask the truth
becoming clear
promises like paper fragile
and the wind Burning Brightly for a moment
then darkness closes in
Laughter that was shallow
Smiles I never reached
now reduced to lessons
they have preached the warmth
I thought was bleeding
a spark that couldn’t last
fake friendship in the flames
something that stays in the past.
From the Ashes of rice and new
to seek a friendship pole,
no more Shadows, no more lies,
just a light of day, and the fire is awake
I find a truer, brighter way
“Trivial Humor” by Angel Vaca
Burn, burn, burn away
Oh, how I wish the flames burn
All notions of trivial humor,
Awkward laughs and chortles
Burn, burn, burn away
Oh, how I wish the flames would devour it
All of the trivial humor scattered,
By an outburst of flame
Leaving nothing behind, but ashes
Burn, burn, burn away
Oh sweet flame
“Time” by Alex Zamudio
Moments passed by, overthinking of time
Tasks put off, opportunity not seized
Into the new year, better habits bring
New, fresh chances offer themselves up.
A foundation ready to be built
Founded solely on perseverance and trust
Trust in thyself, reject self-doubt.
Irrelevant, what the future may bring
For within, there is strength throughout.
“Let the Flames Consume” by Samantha Del Rio
Oh, let the flames consume the past
The moments I’d rather not have cast
Embarrassment lingers, a heavy chain
But I’ll let it burn – release the pain
Mistakes and blushes, let them go
Into the fire, no longer to show
2024, your trials are done
I face the future, a brighter sun.
“A Single Flame” by Ruby Flores
I watch it all coming down, but
I don’t feel pity or sympathy for the
things I hold dear burning before me.
Each IOU and promise made or
given burning away to ashes.
Each handmade gift I spent minutes or hours
carefully putting together, gone with a single
flame.
All the assignments I put away for another day
will forever remain incomplete.
All the useless things I made an emotional connection with,
the piece of string, the gum wrapper with a smile,
the forgotten teddy bear stuck under my bed now
serve a purpose as they make the flames grow.
“Self Doubt” by Denise Cabrera Zaragoza
Self-doubt is like an inner fire
A voice that says I can’t go
Higher
This is the year I throw my doubt
Into a fire
Burn the thoughts
The thoughts that hold me back
The lack of value
The doubt that I carry year by year
I could let the fire consume me but
2025 is a new year
The fire is out.