It was midnight. And those spirits Who men's destinies control Were in solemn court a.s.sembled, Waiting for the bell to toll The final hour of the year; And what happened you will hear:

Elves and gnomes and dwarfs came tripping On the light fantastic toe, From their distant caves and castles In the land of ice and snow; And the elf-king, white and h.o.a.ry, From his throne arose and spoke: "Fellow spirits all, I greet you."

(And just then old Father Time Rang out the old year--1909.) "Friends, I feel our power is waning,-- Man, our ward, is now proclaiming Among others, a most curious thing, That in a chair he likes to swing Because his ancestor, an ape, Was very apt to use his tape To swing himself from limb to limb Of trees and vines which on them cling.

Moreover, he is now so learned That to a fossil he is turned, Instead of joining our free band Of spirits, in the fairy land."

Silence reigned supreme a moment; Then an old dwarf, ripe with age, Arose, and all those elves and fairies Bowed their heads a little s.p.a.ce For that "grand old man," whose wisdom In that hall rang loud and clear: "Time has come when man no longer Feels he needs invoke our aid, For creation, now he tells us, By itself was surely made;-- Blind he is to Nature's teachings, And so wise in his conceit That he would forget the lessons Taught by wayside flowers sweet; By the river and the mountain And the myriad things that creep Upon the earth. And this wondrous Human being calls himself but a machine, Cla.s.sed among the things he fashions From the metals earth doth yield.

Ah, his very heart is hardening-- Love no longer can hold sway When the heir of all creation Says he's only made of clay."

I awoke from my light slumber At the New Year's earliest beam, Pondering deeply if a lesson Could be learned, e'en from a dream.

THE LIGHT

The way is long, the night is drear, I stumble on through doubt and fear; My heart grows numb, all hope takes flight; Oh, Father, let me see the light!

Was it for me that He has died?

Was it for me the Crucified Bore the deep anguish in the night?-- Oh, Father, let me see the light!

O doubting child, look up and see, It was for sinners, such as thee, Christ conquered sin, and death, and night.

Look up, dear child, behold The Light!

SISTER DEAR, I LOVE YOU SO

Sister dear, I love you so!

As the seasons come and go, Dearer still, my friend, you grow.

Sister dear, I love you so!

Sister dear, I love you so!

Ah, forgive each thoughtless blow; Though I've often hurt you--oh, Sister dear, I love you so!

Sister dear, I love you so!

May love's flame still brighter glow, Friendship's fires ne'er burn low.-- Sister dear, I love you so!

Sister dear, I love you so!

As your birthdays come and go, Let me whisper, soft and low, Sister dear, I love you so!

Sister dear, I love you so!

When life's fires dimmer glow, Take this with you, as you go, Sister dear, I love you so!

NIGHT WATCHES

In the still watches of night Long ere the dawn comes a-creeping Over the eastern skies, Think of the hearts that are breaking;-- Oh, hear the moans and the sobbing-- Feel how the pulses are throbbing, Just because some one was thoughtless.-- Oh, was that someone you?

MEN ARE THREE

There are all kinds of people we meet on the road, As we travel along life's way; And some are surly and some are grave And others are jolly and gay.

And some folks are short, while others are tall, Still others are skinny and thin-- And some skip along, a-humming a song, But others are simply all in.

But where'er they come from, or whither they go, We pigeon-hole each of them so, We group them, and sort them, and label them all, The short ones, the skinny, and tall.

There's the man or the woman, the boy or the girl, That's always a-wishing a share In somebody's fortune, or somebody's fame, Yes, they wish for the moon 'way up there.-- Then there's that group of persons Who talk, talk, and talk, You simply don't know what they say-- From morning till night they keep talking away, And the night is like unto the day.-- But quietly along, on the very same road, Walk others, with little to say, And if they have wishes (What mortals have not?), They put them discreetly away.

They're the workers, the lifters of burdens,--who dare To fight for the right if need be, Alone 'gainst a world-- And defiance they hurl To all tyrants wherever they be.

You have met these three cla.s.ses of people, I'm sure, As you've traveled adown life's way-- The folks with their wish-bone enormously grown, And the "jaw-bones," who talk all the day.-- And I know you have shunned them, As others have done From the day that time began, But you've hailed with delight, And you've longed for the sight Of the steady, quiet, "back-boned" man.

SMILES AND TEARS

Swift run the hours on to days And days to years-- And each and every one is filled With smiles or tears.

Sometimes the skies are over-cast The live-long Day-- But when the sun shall smile again Why, who can say!

COLUMBIA TO SHAKESPEARE (An Appreciation)

We are gathered here from the ends of the earth, The children of Teuton and Celt; The children, too, of Latin and Slav At Liberty's shrine have knelt.

America is proud to take From out of bondage and strife, And weave them all into one great whole, These strands of human life.

She'll dye them all in the self-same red Of Liberty's crimson hue; And place them as the glorious stars On Freedom's field of blue.

And we, the children of all the earth, To thee, poet of all times, Bring honor, and laurel, and love as well-- And crown thee, king of rhymes.

Thou brought us to the very homes Of Saxon, Dane and Moor, And sweetly sang thy choicest lays Alike to rich and poor.

Thou didst act well, thy every part, On this brief stage of life; Thou taught us too, our parts to play In peaceful work, or strife.