On New Year's Eve we'll open doors
to mark the midnight chime,
tradition that my father kept
that came to him through time.
His father and their fathers gone
to graves would sing the rhyme
and give a thought of kindness to
recall them in their prime.
Today we take the place of them
and hold the open door;
and wonder will traditions last
when we are here no more.
We toast the past and wipe our eyes
to hear the ancient lore;
the human heart has logic still,
as sons come to the fore.
Author notes
Happy new year to all of you. Cheers!
A contest entry
- Auld Lang Syne by Keith.
700 points, ended January 12, 10 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Thank you for reading!
Comments
1 - 15 of 15
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Very neatly done indeed!
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Thank you for appreciating!
Happy new year!
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Happy New Year to you, Margaret. What a special tradition to let in the hope of new beginnings, and perhaps sweep the debris of the prior year out the door as well!
I don't remember New Year's Eve celebrations as a child. My mother was a single mom and she didn't date that I recall. We often spent Christmas at my grandparents' place, and the New Year came in unheralded, so your father's custom seems a very welcome observance to commemorate the old and welcome all new good to come.
It makes memories for a rich heritage.
A special blessing on all open doors for you this new year, my friend.
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Happy New Year Karen! My father was always the man at the door when I was a child, and it is a tradition we are keeping. As members join the family we add more rituals! My husband brought from his family the new year kiss.
Best wishes for health and prosperity in 2009!
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Beautiful
That's a lovely tradition to pass down from generation to generation. I hope the year 2009 brings you many blessings my dear friend. May the new year bring you lots of joy and happiness and peace.
Love Joan
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Thank you sweet Joan. May the new year bring you better and better.
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Excellent, and I note that it would fit to the tune of Auld Lang Syne, in fact to both of the tunes. I like the tradition of opening the front door to let the New Year in, and the back one to let the Old Year out. In fact, we did it last year, so perhaps we'll carry it on. I was speaking to an octogenarian (plus) who told me that her mother in law didn't celebrate Christmas at all, but each Hogmanay the ashes would be cleaned out of the grate, the whole house scrubbed till it gleamed like a new pin, and a tall dark handsome first foot with a lump of coal and a piece of black bun would be insisted upon, to bring in the New Year with good luck. Thanks for a thoughtful entry. Happy New Year when it comes.
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I like the way you tied family traditions to parents' ancestors, remembering them, and by extension beyond into the past to those we never knew.
Tradition is what ties whole cultures together: things we do, because it is what we have always done. Good when it is shared by all, but unhappy when traditions clash and rigidity and disrespect set in.
I see that opening the new year's door lets the old year out, along with any stale air, and invites the new year in. Where it's winter it lets in the wind and snow too and turns on the furnace! Elsewhere it could be mosquitoes!
Interesting how your rhyme scheme changes for the second verse as if modernized with today's thought!
A very thought-provoking poem!
Terry
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Thank you for your kind comment and applause Terry. I like this tradition, and I remember fondly my father's enthusiasm for it.
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This is a lovely piece and so nice that your sons are carrying on the tradition of their forefathers, indeed!
Wishing you a bright new year, wherever you are these days.
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Thank you for your comment and applause Marcy. All the best to you and yours.
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A wish for all that's new...
... and blessings the year through. May you know the miracle of each moment, the miracle that is you...
Your acquaintance wil be ever new and therefore never forgotten. Peace and blessing always.
Happy New Year!
Rahad
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Thank you Rahad, you have brought light to my pages all year, and I'm very grateful to you. Many blessings for the new year!
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HAVE A HAPPY 2009
These are 2 virgin cocktails to ring in the new year with a toast. Let's plan on a blessed every day... I'm praying on it and counting my blessings.
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Thank you for being here at the beginning of the new year! Many hugs and blessings Sea.
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