For the New Year.

For the New Year.
By HENRY VAN DYKE.
122.5.

These are the gifts I ask
Of thee, Spirit serene;
Strength for the dally task,
Courage to face the road,
Good cheer to help me bear the traveler’s load.
And, for the hours of rest that come between,
An Inward joy in all things heard and seen.
These are the things I prize
And hold of dearest worth:
Light of the sapphire skies,
Peace of the silent hills.
Shelter of woods and comfort of the grass,
Music of birds, murmur of little rils,
Shadow of clouds that quickly pass,
And after showers the smell of flowers
And of the good brown earth,
And, best of all, along the way, friendship and mirth.