A Flower unblown; a Book unread;
A Tree with fruit unharvested;
A Path untrod; a House whose rooms
Lack yet the heart's divine perfumes;
A Landscape whose wide border lies
In silent shade 'neath silent skies;
A wondrous Fountain yet unsealed;
A Casket with its gifts concealed;
This is the year that for you waits,
Beyond to-morrow's mystic gates.
Oh! may this Flower unfold to you
Visions of beauty, sweet and new;
This Book on golden pages trace
Your sacred joys, and deeds of grace;
May all the fruits of this strange tree
Luscious and rosy-tinted be;
This Path through fields of knowledge go;
This House with love's content o'erflow;
This Landscape glitter with the dew
Of blessed hope and friendships true;
This Fountain's living crystal cheer,
As fail the springs that once were dear;
This Casket with such gems be stored
As shine in lives that love the Lord.
