Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Robert Service: British-Canadian known as “the Bard of the Yukon”

A poem for the New Year

  • 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!

Robert Service (1874-1958) was a British-Canadian Poet known as “the Bard of the Yukon,” named so for his many poems set in the northern wasteland of Canada, including his most famous poem, “The Cremation of Sam McGee.” Born in Lancashire, England, he worked as a bank clerk, and often traveled to the United States and Canada. When his bank sent him to the Yukon, he was caught up in the Klondike Gold Rush and struck literary gold with “The Cremation” and other poems which became immediate successes. Service’s critics often criticized his poems as doggerel; but the financial returns on what he self-effacingly called “verse, not poetry” allowed him to escape poverty and live comfortably for the rest of his life.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Classical Classical at The San Diego Symphony Orchestra

A concert I didn't know I needed
Next Article

Poway’s schools, faced with money squeeze, fined for voter mailing

$105 million bond required payback of nearly 10 times that amount
  • 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!

Robert Service (1874-1958) was a British-Canadian Poet known as “the Bard of the Yukon,” named so for his many poems set in the northern wasteland of Canada, including his most famous poem, “The Cremation of Sam McGee.” Born in Lancashire, England, he worked as a bank clerk, and often traveled to the United States and Canada. When his bank sent him to the Yukon, he was caught up in the Klondike Gold Rush and struck literary gold with “The Cremation” and other poems which became immediate successes. Service’s critics often criticized his poems as doggerel; but the financial returns on what he self-effacingly called “verse, not poetry” allowed him to escape poverty and live comfortably for the rest of his life.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Raging Cider & Mead celebrates nine years

Company wants to bring America back to its apple-tree roots
Next Article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader