New Year Poem by Cicely Fox Smith

South o' Cape Stiff, an' the last night o' the year,
In the hooker
Maid o' Judah
we'd hard an' scanty cheer:
With water to the fife-rail an' a wind that cuts you through
Out went the Old Year and in come the New.

Every ship in harbour'd be strikin' her bell,
Every steamer's syren blowin' off like hell:
They'd be passin' round the bottle an' singin' 'Auld Lang Syne,'
And all the young brassbounders kickin' up a shine.

But the galley fire was out, an' we'd very near forgot
The feel o' something dry an' the taste o' something 'ot:
With salt beef to bite on, an' sodden tack to chew,
Out went the Old Year and in come the New.

South o' Cape Stiff, in the darkness an' the cold,
In come the New Year and out went the Old:
Close beside my elbow I heard Mike Murphy say:
'
This
year, so 'elp me, I'm goin' to save me pay.'