Wishing well
Hail! All hail!! Baritone gale
Of voices, hearty and hale
Gives vent to tenor that prevails
O’er all, of joy — as if Holy Grail
Is, at long last, within their pale
Shining forth through parting veil —
Yea, bid departing year farewell —
Departure that none bewails —
As into the past it sails
Taking with it all that ails
— As if from sojourn in jail
Dawning year all men would bail —
So, chorus of voices swell
Sweet refrain of carol
In time to merry knell
Of village church’s bell
That e’en youngest child can tell
Spinning a magical spell:
In shower of bright stars that fell
Across valley, glade and dale
Virgin snow blanketing shale
Families, male and female
Snug as bugs in hearth-warmed cells
Recounting half-remembered tales
Midnight’s peace, frail, fragile eggshell
Sundered by the cracked knell
Of church’s rejoicing bell
Announcing that all was well
On night a thousand sparks fell
O’er town, forest, glen and dell
— Yea, praising all that’s well
When everything seemed to jell
In endless stream, pell-mell
Joy in each heart to dwell:
Each family close as peas in shell
Redolent with meat roasting smell
— Well-laid and spread supper table
Groaning with cakes, vegetables
Plus full pitchers of ale:
While revelers regale
Listeners with countless tales
In bidding the old year farewell
Beginning the new with fuel
