ON SEEING THE NEW YEAR IN, January 1999

I stepped into the year, light footed,
Joyful that we’d made the new
And passed through months of trial
And of pain within the days
And months before. T’was prayer
And love which saw us here
In time and place. We did Not know
How that year would end nor what
This new would bring. But this I know,
God granted us new life and, living,
We will give to him our joys and
Suffering. But think on this, think on this.
It is our love which greets each new-born day,
Our prayer too, which transforms
Our aching bones into an offering
For our sins and omissions and for those
Of this poor, sad, old world, that it may come
To see the third millenium with hope
In our Redeemer and his peace.

JEB

For more information on these poems, contact edmund@balnaves.org