• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Books
    • Content Strategy for WordPress (2015)
    • WordPress for Web Developers (2013)
    • Beginning WordPress 3 (2010)
  • Blog
    • Content Modeling for WordPress
    • WordPress Hidden Gems
    • Web Design
  • Work
    • Presentations and Interviews
    • on GitHub →
    • MLIS Class Projects (2019-2022)
    • Portfolio (2002-2019)
    • WordPress Plugins

Stephanie Leary

Writer, Front End Developer, former WordPress consultant

  • About
    • Press Kit
    • Presentations and Interviews
  • Contact Me

Year, begone

January 1, 2014 Stephanie Leary Leave a Comment

2013, I have nothing to say to you. When we reminisce about the good years, your name will not be called. Begone.

Your pictures will lurk under the others’, your corners forever warring for territory on the sticky page. When you begin to damage your opponents, we will call a halt to the hostilities. We will resettle you elsewhere, in an undisputed box.

You tried to kill us. You burned us, drowned us, sickened us, shot us — what is it with years and guns lately? — and you sent your winds to sweep us away. Keep sweeping as you go; your mess awaits our care.

Pieces of you are missing. We buried them with our families and friends. You leave without your full complement of passengers; I deem you a poor conveyance.

Your governance, you stole from your predecessors’ store of jokes. Here, take it back. It is what we asked for; it was not what we wanted.

Return to your father’s house, little year, imprecise assassin, careless keeper. Sit at the feet of your elders. Ask them, Could I have done better, given what came before?

Perhaps they can find some comfort for you. I cannot; what I might have shared with you, you have taken.

Begone, year. Welcome, year.

Life

This is an excerpt from Content Strategy for WordPress.My latest books are Content Strategy for WordPress (2015) and WordPress for Web Developers (2013). Sign up to be notified when I have a new book for you.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

My Books

I’m a front end developer at Equinox OLI, working on open source library software. I was previously a freelance WordPress developer in higher education. You can get in touch here or on LinkedIn.

Copyright © 2025 Stephanie Leary · Contact