Years Tread softly, ye throngs with hurrying feet, Look down, O ye stars, in your flight, And bid ye farewell to a time that was sweet, For the year lies a-dying to-night. In a shroud of pure snow lie the quickly-fled hours— The children of Time and of Light; Stoop down, ye fair moon, and scatter sweet flowers, For the year lies a-dying to-night. Hush, O ye rivers that sweep to the sea, From hill and from blue mountain height; The flood of your song should be sorrow, not glee, For the year lies a-dying to-night. [Pg 24]Good night, and good-bye, dear, mellow, old year, The new is beginning to dawn. But we’ll turn and drop on thy white grave a tear, For the sake of the friend that is gone. All hail to the New! He is coming with gladness, From the East, where in light he reposes; He is bringing a year free from pain and from sadness, He is bringing a June with her roses. A burst of sweet music, the listeners hear, The stars and the angels give warning— He is coming in beauty, this joyful New Year, O’er the flower-strewn stairs of the morning. He is bringing a day with glad pulses beating, For the sorrow and passion are gone, And Love and Life have a rapturous meeting In the rush and the gladness of dawn. [Pg 25]The Old has gone out with a crown that is hoary, The New in his brightness draws near; Then let us look up in the light and the glory, And welcome this royal New Year. T Look down, O ye stars, in your flight, For the year lies a-dying to-night. The children of Time and of Light; For the year lies a-dying to-night. From hill and from blue mountain height; For the year lies a-dying to-night. [Pg 24] The new is beginning to dawn.
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