The Old Year and the New

Read 'The Old Year and the New' by 'Fannie Isabelle Sherrick' and provide your summary and literary analysis in the comments section below.

The Old Year and the New by Fannie Isabelle Sherrick

Low at my feet there lies to-night
  A crushed and withered rose;
Within its heart of fading red
  No crimson fire glows;
For o'er its leaves the frost of death
  Steals like an icy breath;
And soon 't will vanish from my sight,
  A thing of gloom and death.
Ah! beauteous flower, once thou wert
  My pleasure and my pride;
And now when thou art old and worn
  I will not turn aside;
But gently o'er thy faded leaves
  I'll shed one kindly tear;
That thou wilt know, though dead and gone,
  To memory thou art dear.
Before my gaze there lies to-night
  A rose-bud fresh and fair;
And like the breath of dewy morn
  Its fragrance scents the air.
This fragile flower I fain would pluck
  With hand most kind yet bold;
And watch its petals day by day
  Their shining wealth unfold.
And soon 'twill be my very own
  To keep forevermore:
This flower that bloomed for me alone
  Upon a heavenly shore.
God grant my hands may guard it well
  And keep it pure and fair;
For angel hands have gathered it
  And placed it in my care.
Then fare thee well, thou dying year,
  Thou art my withered rose;
And on the stem where once thou wert,
  Another flower grows;
Yet fear thee not, when thou are dead,
  To thee I'll still be true;
And 'mid the joys of other years
  I still will think of you.

Form: Lyric

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