Good Riddance to 2016

This last year has stolen
Childhood memories,
Sprayed terror like graffiti
On walls of peaceful cities,
Torn stars and heroes
Like leaves off autumn trees,
While we clung to a glass cliff
In a year of tragedies.
A wave of coulrophobia,
Caused by the election,
Was surfed by post-truth politics
On a tempestuous ocean.
2016 has broken all our hearts,
What a relief when it finally departs.

Kim M. Russell, 2016

My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads – Words Count with Mama Zen

For her final Words Count post of 2016, Mama Zen says it seems only fitting to feature the Oxford Dictionary’s words of the year.  The Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year for 2016 is: post-truth, an adjective relating to circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than emotional appeals. The other words on the shortlist were:

Adulting – The practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks

Alt-right – An ideological grouping associated with extreme conservative or reactionary viewpoints, characterized by a rejection of mainstream politics and by the use of online media to disseminate deliberately controversial content

Brexiteer – A person who is in favour of the UK withdrawing from the European Union

Chatbot – A computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users, especially over the internet

Coulrophobia – Extreme or irrational fear of clowns

Glass cliff – Used with reference to a situation in which a woman or member of a minority group ascends to a leadership position in challenging circumstances where the risk of failure is high

Hygge – A quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being, regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture

Latinx – A person of Latin American origin or descent, used as a gender-neutral or non-binary alternative to Latino or Latina

Woke – Originally in African-American usage meaning alert to injustice in society, especially racism

Hell of a year, huh?  We’re closing it with poems of about 70 words or fewer, using at least one of the words of the year.

19 thoughts on “Good Riddance to 2016”

  1. We must always be optimistic & never spread the fears I knew as a child. These fears create stunted growth if we buy into “being afraid”. 2016 like any year had positives & negatives as will 2017.

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  5. It certainly broke hearts the world over. If this is a taste of years to come, the 21st century looks to be a big disappointment. We want progress, not regression.

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