Christmas lights are being taken down,
The Rose Parade is coming to town.
New Year’s resolutions are looming fast:
All signs another year has passed.
But before we bid 2014 adieu,
Here’s a gift from the Zócalo crew—
We’re remembering 12 months in verse,
The great, the strange, the very worst.
An Ebola epidemic became a crisis; our media erupted in fear.
Thousands died in West Africa; two people died here.
Boko Haram militants kidnapped girls in Nigeria.
Protests wracked Ukraine, so Russia annexed Crimea.
Shots were exchanged, lives were taken, world war appeared imminent,
Instead Putin got himself into a serious financial predicament.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin,
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt—celeb weddings were brewing.
Sony’s servers were hacked, North Korea issued a denial;
Hollywood execs were shamed by emails that went viral.
In Colorado and Washington, it’s finally legal to be a stoner,
Not to mention super profitable to be a dispensary owner.
Protests raged in Hong Kong and in Venezuela, too.
Change came to Thailand by way of military coup.
The Ali Baba IPO was massive, Bitcoin’s value sank.
Uber and Airbnb kept putting money in the bank.
Michael Brown. Eric Garner. Deaths: two. Indictments: none.
“I can’t breathe” and “black lives matter” on the nation’s tongue.
Protests swept from state to state, but the violence didn’t end.
Justice system, law enforcement—are they foe or friend?
World Cup soccer delivered a month of thrills,
Glory came to Germany (the pain was all Brazil’s).
L.A.’s Kings were crowned by Lord Stanley.
The victors of the MLS Cup were the L.A. Galaxy.
A lack of snow and a ring malfunction couldn’t stop Sochi,
Russia’s Winter Olympics were a great success, declared the IOC.
Donald Sterling’s racism was revealed in all its tawdry detail.
In the end he did OK thanks to the Clippers’ $2 billion retail.
The Republicans took Congress; in L.A., no one voted.
The Senate’s Southern Democrats are now completely eroded.
Immigration reform finally arrived through an Obama decree,
After thousands crossed the border as child refugees.
From South Carolina to Wyoming, same-sex marriage won in court.
The CIA’s secrets were revealed in a torture report.
Gwyneth Paltrow uncoupled, Bill Cosby allegations were big news.
College campuses around the country dealt with sexual abuse.
Angelenos said goodbye to plastic bags and The Tonight Show.
You couldn’t find an American kid who wasn’t singing “Let It Go.”
ISIS, ISIL, the Islamic State—the name kept on changing.
What stayed the same in Syria—a civil war kept raging.
Pope Francis brokered a deal between Obama and Castro.
Forty-three student deaths brought outrage to Mexico.
A shooting in Isla Vista. Drought in the American West.
More of Israel and Palestine’s never-ending unrest.
Between Ray Rice and concussions, the NFL fumbled.
Obamacare went into effect after having stumbled.
Goodbyes to Gabriel García Márquez and Maya Angelou,
Robin Williams, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Joan Rivers, too.
Malaysia Airlines lost two planes, over Ukraine and the South China Sea.
India got a new prime minister in Narendra Modi.
Malala won the Nobel Peace Prize—the youngest person ever.
NASA scored success with its Orion capsule endeavor.
Zócalo announced two big partnerships and our syndication.
We’re not too shy to say it out loud: We’re expanding across the nation.
We started two columns, hosted Susan Orlean and Craig Venter.
We tried to figure out why L.A.’s so tough on renters.
We launched My Favorite Movie with Roy Choi, the food truck king.
Alain de Botton talked news junkies; we heard Randy Newman sing.
Ethan Zuckerman won our book prize; we tried to speed up traffic.
Joshua Wolf Shenk told us why the number two is so fantastic.
2014 began with a personal loss, an absence that’s persisted:
Charita Law was a wonderful colleague—both spirited and gifted.
Looking back isn’t always easy, but it’s sometimes necessary,
To dig up the past, both good and bad, then move on with the memories.
So here’s to the last 365, and the days just around the bend,
To beginning new beginnings and celebrating at the end.