The Passing Of The Year Poem by Robert William Service
The Passing Of The Year
My glass is filled, my pipe is lit,
My den is all a cosy glow;
And snug before the fire I sit,
And wait to feel the old year go.
I dedicate to solemn thought
Amid my too-unthinking days,
This sober moment, sadly fraught
With much of blame, with little praise.
Old Year! upon the Stage of Time
You stand to bow your last adieu;
A moment, and the prompter's chime
Will ring the curtain down on you.
Your mien is sad, your step is slow;
You falter as a Sage in pain;
Yet turn, Old Year, before you go,
And face your audience again.
That sphinx-like face, remote, austere,
Let us all read, whate'er the cost:
O Maiden! why that bitter tear?
Is it for dear one you have lost?
Is it for fond illusion gone?
For trusted lover proved untrue?
O sweet girl-face, so sad, so wan
What hath the Old Year meant to you?
And you, O neighbour on my right
So sleek, so prosperously clad!
What see you in that aged wight
That makes your smile so gay and glad?
What opportunity unmissed?
What golden gain, what pride of place?
What splendid hope? O Optimist!
What read you in that withered face?
And You, deep shrinking in the gloom,
What find you in that filmy gaze?
What menace of a tragic doom?
What dark, condemning yesterdays?
What urge to crime, what evil done?
What cold, confronting shape of fear?
O haggard, haunted, hidden One
What see you in the dying year?
And so from face to face I flit,
The countless eyes that stare and stare;
Some are with approbation lit,
And some are shadowed with despair.
Some show a smile and some a frown;
Some joy and hope, some pain and woe:
Enough! Oh, ring the curtain down!
Old weary year! it's time to go.
My pipe is out, my glass is dry;
My fire is almost ashes too;
But once again, before you go,
And I prepare to meet the New:
Old Year! a parting word that's true,
For we've been comrades, you and I --
I thank God for each day of you;
There! bless you now! Old Year, good-bye!
Only RWS could have done it this way! After he created Sam McGee And shot Dan McGrew, What else was there left to do?
I've never been a big fan of his but when I look at that way, well, Kim, when you're right you write.
it's no good thinking of what's gone and could have been instead embrace the new and the unforeseen.
Farewell to 2016++++++++++ Hello 2017! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Classic poem! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! +++++++++++
The sage of time......meditating on the past to enlighten the future year.....some harsh some pleasant.......a goodbye to the PST year that has become a part of the in erasable history........
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4/23/2024 12:41:30 AM # 1.0.0.1119
He is right - we should thank God for every day last year because we still stand here to ring in the new one. Some are even more fortunate. All their loved ones they began the year with are still here to greet the next. That is an awesome blessing to receive,