NEW YEAR'S GREETING by ELEANOR B. CLAUSEN

Across the frozen spaces,
And o'er the rounded hill,
Listen to the echoing
Of all the notes of song combined --
A Happy New Year's here.

Old Father Time goes shuffling on;
Today the infant year is born,
Stands smiling with expectant eyes,
Our year to fashion
And revise.

Conceived within our hearts,
We hold the image
Each has visioned of himself.
Something to live by, grow toward,
Finally achieve.
If then we cannot reach the height
Our spirit is contending,
How happy he who strives.

He adds a virtue here,
And there chips off an edge
Of faulty character.
And each year draws new lines
Of strength and grace
To add unto this pattern
Of his life.

And each of us will know
'Tis well to say,
On New Year's Day,
I do resolve:

To walk with cheerfulness
Where'er I go;
To do whatever task is mine
The best I know;
To write without delay;
Be prompt to pay
All obligations;
With fine courtesy
Invest my way,
And generous judgment give
To all my fellows;
Thus will I strive to live
Each day.

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...