Let other mornings honor the miraculous.
Eternity has festivals enough.
This is the feast of our mortality,
The most mundane and human holiday.

The new year always brings us what we want
Simply by bringing us along—to see
A calendar with every day uncrossed,
A field of snow without a single footprint.
~Dana Gioia, “New Year’s” from Interrogations at Noon

The shadow of death
Is long across the land,
And the night comes early
This time of the year.

We have tried to be the light,
But the matches burnt our fingers.
We have made every sacrifice,
But still the solstice came.

So come and sit with me,
In the shadow of death
And let’s tell it to the dark:
Who was, and is, and is to come.
~Mike Bonikowsky “Advent IV: Faith”

No one ever regarded the first of January with indifference. It is that from which all date their time, and count upon what is left. It is the nativity of our common Adam.
~Charles Lamb, 1897

I begin this new year
as naked as dormant branches trembling
in the freezing nights of arctic winds.

Having dropped all my leaves and fruit,
my potential now is mere bud;
I cover up nothing,
unable to hide in shame.

We each celebrate a birthday on New Year’s Day,
a bright beginning after so much darkness,
a still life nativity born in a winter garden,
He who was and is and is to come:
He who gives us another chance to make it right.

Layton DeVries was a music teacher who composed a song now found on YouTube at this link – shortly after, at age 24 he died of injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

O Child of God, Rest assured the Lord is with you.
When you wake up in the morning and the sun is shining down,
The Lord watches every step you take.
When the world has knocked you down, And you don‘t know which way to turn,
Rest assured, the Lord is with you.
O Child of God, Rest assured the Lord is with you.

When your friends have turned against you, And you feel all alone,
The Lord watches over every move you make.
He will always be right there, to protect and love His Child
Rest assured, the Lord is with you.
O Child of God, Rest assured the Lord is with you.

When darkness drifts around you, And your eyes close to sleep,
The Lord watches over every breath you take
And when death comes near to bring you home,
You have no need to fear,
Rest assured, the Lord is with you.
O Child of God, Rest assured, the Lord is with you.
~Layton DeVries

From Barnstorming: a book of beauty in words and photography – available to order here: