She was standing on a wooden chair at the far
edge of Union Square Park, New York,
not far from a statue of George Washington.
It was New Year's Eve day.
As people passed by she called out,
"Whatever you do,
don't look back."

She said it again and again,
in an actor's voice, with dramatic pauses.
"Whatever you do,
don't look back."

Many walked quickly by. Several people stopped.
They asked what the words meant.
"Whatever you need them to mean," she said.
One man wanted to know why she chose to
stand there on her chair.
I wondered about the chair too. It had a cane seat.
It looked at like it would be more at home in a kitchen
or a farmhouse.
Had she dragged it across
many avenues to stand there at the edge of a set of stairs, and
the edge of the village at this very busy crossroads on December 31?
Why?
Performance art? A dare? A plaintive reminder to let the past go?
A nudge to look forward?
A coda for 2012?

It was thirty four degrees out with a bracing wind. Nearby a couple of guys
were engrossed in a game of chess. A group of friends met in the middle of
the park, one wearing a New Year's tiara. A man sold noisemakers, horns
and 2013 glasses in bright red and neon lime. We walked down Broadway.
I could still hear her: "Whatever you do, don't look back."

Maybe it was an act but she sounded earnest.
I wasn't entirely with the "Whatever you do" part of her statement,
I happen to like looking back. But it was a good thought
for the new year.
Yesterday? Last year? Let it be for a bit.
Revel in the right now.
And check out all that unfolds next.