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The night air sparkles

Anticipation. Like champagne

Bubbles, bitter sweet, bursting

On tongue. Sour.

Neck it back anyway

Helps you bear the

Company.

 

Crushed in too-tight dress

Seams screaming to split

Christmas dinner hasn’t left

You yet.

Blisters on heels from unworn shoes

Want some more punch but - it hurts to move!

 

You’d rather be home;

Movie on

Chocolate box, slippers on

Cocoa left moustache on face

Better than

High-pitched laughs,

Grim grinning face.

 

Time for the long

Final dance.

Just want the clocks to chime,

Could’ve gone to bed at nine.

At last the countdown stars

To tick

Ten.

Your stomach

Nine.

Feels funny

Eight.

Not funny

Seven.

Quite strange

Six.

Purse lips

Five.

Run to

Four.

The loo

Three.

Hold it in

Two.

Feel it come

One.

You’re -

 

Clumsily search, inside your bag, this

Party’s left you skint but

Now you realise you forgot the most important thing, you

Forgot to buy the

Mints.

 

 

 

 

I wrote this poem to challenge the concept that people have over New Year’s being the best night of the year. People have this ongoing sense of hype, that New Year’s is full of excitement and fun, when in reality, a lot of parties (if you’re lucky enough to be invited to them) can actually be quite awkward and more of an endurance.

      I began the poem with ‘The night air sparkles,’ as if to lure the reader into the idea of New Year’s being a magical night, making the twist all the more effective as the poem continues. I chose Champagne as the alcohol that was being consumed as it is the stereotypical celebratory alcohol that people often drink at New Year’s, despite a lot of people professing not to like it that much.

      I tried to keep the poem fairly light and humorous throughout, by creating funny images, such as someone wearing a ‘too-tight’ dress, to the point where they feel they can barely move, also due to their shoes being painful. Equally, I wanted the poem to be relatable for the adult population, hence why I chose to include these details.

      In the following stanza, I stated the desired alternative of staying at home with a ‘movie’ and a ‘chocolate box,’ again, adding a funny image by describing that well known face that has froth left on it from a hot chocolate or mug of ‘cocoa’ in this case. The penultimate stanza exploits the idea of the countdown to New Year’s that is broadcast across the country, however, in between the countdown, I include short intersections of text that describe how unpleasant this particular person feels by the end of the evening, resulting in them running off to the bathroom.

      Finally, to make the poem most effective and as funny as possible, I use the implications from the previous stanza, and reinforce it with the idea of them requiring mints, in order to freshen their breath, but to make it worse for the character in question, and also more relatable, I play off the idea, that the thing they need the most, is the thing they forgot to bring to the party. 

Image: https://www.bhmpics.com/view-champagne_at_new_year_party-2880x1620.html