The Passing of the Year

By Robert William Service



My glass is filled, my pipe is lit,
My den is all a cosy glow;
And snug before the fire I sit,
And wait to feel the old year go.
I dedicate to solemn thought
Amid my too-unthinking days,
This sober moment, sadly fraught
With much of blame, with little praise.

Old Year! upon the Stage of Time
You stand to bow your last adieu;
A moment, and the prompter's chime
Will ring the curtain down on you.
Your mien is sad, your step is slow;
You falter as a Sage in pain;
Yet turn, Old Year, before you go,
And face your audience again.

That sphinx-like face, remote, austere,
Let us all read, whate'er the cost:
O Maiden! why that bitter tear?
Is it for dear one you have lost?
Is it for fond illusion gone?
For trusted lover proved untrue?
O sweet girl-face, so sad, so wan
What hath the Old Year meant to you?

And you, O neighbour on my right
So sleek, so prosperously clad!
What see you in that aged wight
That makes your smile so gay and glad?
What opportunity unmissed?
What golden gain, what pride of place?
What splendid hope? O Optimist!
What read you in that withered face?

And You, deep shrinking in the gloom,
What find you in that filmy gaze?
What menace of a tragic doom?
What dark, condemning yesterdays?
What urge to crime, what evil done?
What cold, confronting shape of fear?
O haggard, haunted, hidden One
What see you in the dying year?

And so from face to face I flit,
The countless eyes that stare and stare;
Some are with approbation lit,
And some are shadowed with despair.
Some show a smile and some a frown;
Some joy and hope, some pain and woe:
Enough! Oh, ring the curtain down!
Old weary year! it's time to go.

My pipe is out, my glass is dry;
My fire is almost ashes too;
But once again, before you go,
And I prepare to meet the New:
Old Year! a parting word that's true,
For we've been comrades, you and I --
I thank God for each day of you;
There! bless you now! Old Year, good-bye!

more ramblings

-ultimate season is starting. ooo rah.
-Some Negatives of Gemini:
Renown for their duel personalities, their moods can change from moment to moment. Having a somewhat quick temper. Sometimes will argue just for the sake of arguing, and can be somewhat fickle at times.
too true.
-worst match for Gemini is Virgo

These are not the two signs made in zodiac heaven. Gemini is too calculating and logical, while the Virgo mate is critical and demanding. Virgo will find themselves at constant odds with their Gemini’s trait of the never ending desire for change. But do not despair most often there is a mutual desire to want the same things in life, such as friends, family and associates who engage them in their intellectual and artistic pursuits.

-postscript: hahaha, shiou jie, we both want musicians from virginia...and #8

[sic]

mmm, might be too big for the blog. click it. check it out.

Were I to Wring a Rag

—no matter how much
muscle I might have
mustered—my mother
was like to come along
behind, reach around
me to take it up again
from where I'd left it,
lift it back into my line
of vision and in one
practiced motion from
that strangle in her bare
hands and thin air work
a second miraculous
stream of silver dishwash
into the day's last gleam ...


by Todd Heap



So true. Countless times.

Zheng shiou jie de ge

This is a song for the one that I love
I haven’t met them yet
But I’m quietly confident

Although what if like you said
All I’m looking for
It doesn’t exist
Oh I have to believe it does

Cause it’s okay to fall down
It’s okay to crumble
I’ve seen this before
I have seen this before

And you said you wanted to crawl down deep inside
But at this point of the last year I am happy to be alive and

Like that good Hole album
I could live through this
I can live through worse
So play it back in reverse
Oh play it back in reverse

Cause it’s okay to fall down
It’s okay to crumble
I’ve seen this before
I have seen this before and

You wanna camp out and I wanna screw around
In the dark
In the dark

But my hips won’t give anything away
Not tonight not to you
but I think we both know you will stay

And I am surprised how this fits together
I’m surprised how we fit together
And that I will remember
Oh and that I will remember

Cause It’s okay to fall down
It’s okay to crumble
I’ve seen this before
I have seen this before
And you wanna camp out and I wanna fuck around
In the dark
In the dark

But you need to know I’d do this all again
Just to get where I am
Just to get where I am
And I let you know I’d do it all again
Just to get where I am
Just to get where I am

Kaki King

Simply amazing. I think I'm in love.

She play's guitar like no one I've ever seen. Saying it's like a smoothie with two scoops Thao-ish folk strumming, one cup of Priscilla Ahn loop machining, and a hint of Rodrigo y Gabriella instrumental tapping flavor would be the understatement of the week. She's as musically talented as the best of them.

Back to musing. Yea, whatever. Glimpses. It will have to do. Inspiration comes and goes, but I'll make lemonade. I'm going to play this one pretty close to the chest. An extremely high risk-reward situation and I'm going to pull the trigger. Hopefully I'm still motivated when the time comes. Oh, mysterious nameless. I hate thee like ice cream. Should I undergo apoptosis under the uncertainty? Tissue engineering sucks.

On a side note, here's some indexed genius from ms. hagy.

Flight 180, Bishop Allen

it's like you took the giant christmas tree
at rockafella center and
you spread it paper thin
but you were careful not to break a bulb
and then you mirrored it a million fold
to shine
and shine
and shine along

and there's a tap on my knee
bring up your seat back please, she says
but I know she means
if you feel like dancing
dance with me

some of the lights below
shine directly on the people I know
their lives take such strange shapes
but how together they appear from above
I guess that could be love
my friends
my friends
I'm coming home

and then the captain speaks
it's clear and 44 degrees
but I know he means
if you feel like dancing
dance with me

but I been out past the lights
where the jagged black begins
i let my heels sink in the sand
and the ocean sucked it's teeth
and the cold cuts through my feet
and stretched out on and on and on

how disconnected I can feel on the ground
it's like I'm shining all alone
and i don't wanna be
so
before i go to bed tonight
i'll signal up to the passing flight
hit the lights
the lights
the lights
the lights

and now the man in the middle seat
recites the times tables audibly
but i know he means
if you feel like dancing
dance with me
if you feel like dancing
dance with me


They also did a wonderful recording for Daytrotter Sessions. Find it here.