It is a new year
Ethiopian New Year
I smell flower
Yellow flower
Ethio flavour

And there, I see her
My sweet, my lover
Red is her colour
She is far but near

She melts my heart
Like chocolate
Dark brown sweet

She is my summer
My red flower
And now am falling
My heart is warming
My soul is dancing
So don’t come winter
To change the colour
Of my red flower

It is a New Year
Ethiopian New Year
A new beginning
Let’s be forgiving
Let’s stop bittering
And start greening

Love is a winner
Basta grudger
The sky is clear
So nothing to fear

Life is so short
So why we fight
Let’s just enjoy it
As we can lose it
Before we know it

There is a New Year
And new flower
Around the corner
Yellow flower
Better than power
That makes us bitter
That feeds us anger
That kills our love
And our poor dove

It is a new year
Ethiopian New Year
Fresh flower
Breathe in the air
We shall have no fear
As we catch fire
As we desire
Deep in our heart
For love as we melt

Sea of nostalgic generation
River of Facebook nation
In and out migration
Limited freedom of expression
No room for innovation,
But for incarceration,
Parroting, or imitation ...
Strong interest in destruction,
Not in building a lasting foundation
Almost impossible to tolerate difference
And to still be friends
Lack of political moderation
Torpedoes in silent ocean

Radicals left and right
Few with a practical mission statement,
Vision, and commitment
Almost all stuck in the past
Not too many visionaries
But plenty of revolutionary wannabes
And swarms of counterrevolutionaries,
Comrades, cadres, copycats, bullies,
Elitists, opportunists, ideologues,
Egotists, character assassins, and rogues
Relics of the bygone years

Most anachronistic
Few original or unique
Little or no political compromise
But bravado and false promise
Fake democrats
Allergic to alternative viewpoints

Almost everyone wants to lead, but few followers
Not too many look forward—thus, stagnant progress

Confused youth
Trapped in a maze …

Have we learned at all from the past:
From the red blood or feudal mindset?