Poem by Katharine Lee Bates

New Year

White year, white year,
Muffled soft in snow,
A diamond spray whose gems are gone
Before their grace we know,
A crystal-coated spray whose hours
Melt when looked upon,
Hoarfrost stars and hoarfrost flowers,
     White year!

Green year, green year,
Sweet with sun and showers,
A windblown spray whose blossoms bright
Are the seven-colored hours,
A dancing spray whose leaves are days,
A spray whose leaves delight
In azure gleam and silver haze,
     Green year!

New Year, new year
From rosy leaf to gold,
A shining spray on the Tree of Time
Where myriad sprays unfold,
A spray so fair that God may see
And gather it, bloom and rime,
To deck the doors of Eternity,
     New Year!

1. Tom Thumbe
2. Lady Isobel and the Elf-Knight
3. Lydd
4. When Lincoln Died
5. The Sunset, Woven of Soft Lights

Edith Nesbit New Year ("IN the coming year enfolded")

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