2016 Balance Sheet Poem by michael spangenberg

Le monde a-t-il géré ces 365 jours de façon précise, contrôlée et très bien comprise? Question rhétorique.

Did the world at large manage those 365 days precise, tight controlled and extremely well understood? Rhetorical question.

Auschwitz concentration camps revisited in Aleppo children hospitals, Raging refugee crises, EU terrorist attacks, security concerns eclipsing civil freedom, national-fascism ascending in UK, USA, uncontrolled Chicago shootings, simple truths taking for a ride to win the US election, Philipinnes going vigilante, muslim extremists influence growing in Indonesia, reactionary coup in dictatorial Turkey; treats of climate change and nuclear proliferation, my arthitris rheumatoid mummy lost her freedom, now imprisoned in a nursing home - a mer à boire of global and personal adversity.

Sick of all the bad news? Here's some very good news, a global agreement to combat climate change was signed, the UN condemned further expansion of Israel's occupation of Palestine, scientific breakthroughs in the fight against malaria and global hunger, the first solar-fueled airplane was built and made its first travel around the world, dad, auntie Sonja and uncle Bas are still in reasonable mental health, cousin Koko got me the birth certificate, allowing me to become the next US president! , our medTech investment portfolio's prospering, my stubborn children are coming of age, at last, turning into responsible smart citizens ready to contribute to a better world, not to mention that our neigbor gave her cute red cat to us - Red's such a petit mignon!

Be it inadvertently, the eternal light of the universe continues to drip through the inevitable cracks of our fragile ceramics, in a global village intoxicated by corruption and uneven level playing fields favoring the rich and famous, upon closer inspection of the 2016 balance sheet, however, you don't have to believe in the healing power of Jesus to remain cautiously optimistic, and have confidence in the years ahead of our vulnerable human species.