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For Thy guidance all the way
Through the New Year, Lord, we pray,
And in deep humility
Pray for speedy victory.
Let us hear it sung again:
"Peace on earth; good will to men."
Let this year see nations freed
Once again from war and greed.
On the home front help us keep
Faith with those in plane and jeep.
On the land and on the sea
Fighting for our liberty.
Bring them back, whom we hold dear,
Early in this hopeful year.
This poem / prayer was written by Nancy Richey Ranson . . . who was Poet Laureate of Texas from 1941 'til 1943 . . . it was published in the Dallas Morning News on January 1, 1945 . . .
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The Old Year drifts, a ship that now
Lies battered, worn, from stern to prow;
Beside it rides a trim new craft,
Shining and lovely before and aft.
We'll venture in it, our compass true,
Through unknown seas, limitless, blue,
And whether the weather be stormy or bright,
We'll hold to our course by day and night.
Our every veering will hold surprise,
For straight ahead adventure lies.
And in the good ship, New Year, we
Shall sail with Opportunity.
This poem was written by Nancy Richey Ranson . . . who was Poet Laureate of Texas from 1941 'til 1943 . . . it was published in the Dallas Morning News on January 1, 1948 . . .
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In memory of Nancy Richey Ranson, who died in Dallas, Texas on this date in the year 1972 . . . in her own words . . .
I had not known time moved so swiftly past,
Nor counted seconds, flying one by one;
I knew just hours in fragments, rarely fast.
As imperceptible as trail of sun
Across unmeasured distances of sky;
I had not counted myriad sword-like rays
Cut sharply through the tranquil air, to lie
Upon the quiet earth through passing days.
But on this strange new clock, a second hand
Strides endlessly around the moonlike face;
For not one breathless instant will it stand,
But goes relentlessly at steady pace.
I watch it, spellbound. Now, at last, I know
That in this selfsame manner life will go.
This poem is from a little book of poetry called Texas Evening . . . by Nancy Richey Ranson . . . who was Poet Laureate of Texas from 1941 'til 1943 . . .
