
“Cheers to the New Year.” Photo by Rebecca R.
Happy New Year, Friends!
Although I said I would, I changed my mind about sharing a Neruda poem this evening. Instead, I decided to drop in with a dialogue poem by late 19th/early 20th century poet, Ella Wheeler Wilcox. The dialogue speaks to this particular moment of transition. After the maddening year that’s just ended, some of us might be a little wary about our march into 2021. But the year awaits with all its gifts.
New Year: A Dialogue
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Mortal
“The night is cold, the hour is late, the world is bleak and drear;
Who is it knocking at my door?”
The New Year
“I am Good Cheer.”
Mortal
“Your voice is strange; I know you not; in shadows dark I grope.
What seek you here?”
The New Year
“Friend, let me in; my name is Hope.”
Mortal
“And mine is Failure; you but mock the life you seek to bless. Pass on.”
The New Year
“Nay, open wide the door; I am Success.”
Mortal
“But I am ill and spent with pain; too late has come your wealth. I cannot use it.”
The New Year
“Listen, friend; I am Good Health.”
Mortal
“Now, wide I fling my door. Come in, and your fair statements prove.”
The New Year
“But you must open, too, your heart, for I am Love.”
May you find in this year good cheer, hope, success, good health, and, of course, love.
About the image: The macro photo of a leaf with raindrops (or dew?) came from my friend, Rebecca R. She captured it during an autumn walk and sent it with best wishes for the new year.