 | Ochil Idylls and Other Poems |  |
136
THE YOUNG NEW YEAR.
There's a cold north wind, and a baby moon
Upcurl'd in the Ochil sky;
A cottage stands on the brae rime-strewn,
And in front of that cottage I.
Upcurl'd in the Ochil sky;
A cottage stands on the brae rime-strewn,
And in front of that cottage I.
Is this the help I came out to seek,
This child that comes running here?
“I'm come!” and he offers his pinky cheek—
“Yes! I am the young New Year.
This child that comes running here?
“I'm come!” and he offers his pinky cheek—
“Yes! I am the young New Year.
“Carry me, old 'un! carry me in,
To a seat on your knees, you know;
You ought to have heard the welcoming din
They made for me down below.”
To a seat on your knees, you know;
You ought to have heard the welcoming din
They made for me down below.”
With overweight of care on my mind,
The drudge of present and past,
Is all the help that I hoped to find
But a saucy boy at last?
The drudge of present and past,
Is all the help that I hoped to find
But a saucy boy at last?
137
I will look again; but over the moor
There comes no giant to bear
The pack that I must myself endure,
My individual care.
There comes no giant to bear
The pack that I must myself endure,
My individual care.
Far and low in the frozen south
The sun gleams icy clear;
It is he—and I kiss his baby mouth,
And stoop to the young New Year!
The sun gleams icy clear;
It is he—and I kiss his baby mouth,
And stoop to the young New Year!
| Ochil Idylls and Other Poems | |