I hear the bells on New Year’s Eve so softly pealing,
And thoughts from out the mist of years come gently stealing,
So sad, and yet so sweet, they bring a tear,
And longing for a voice I’ll never hear.
In fancy I recall another time,
So long ago, when other bells did chime,
Another voice, now still, which I held dear,
With joyous laughter hailed the glad New Year.
Now dreams and youth and laughter all are gone,
And I’m alone, with memories ling’ ring on.
The golden hours of life are flying past,
Only the bells to whisper of the past.
And still they sing, so wild so clear so sweet,
The echoes in the silent night repeat;
All that is old is fading fast away,
The New Year’s dawn may bring a perfect day.
I hear the bells on New Year’s Eve so softly pealing,
And thoughts from out the mist of years come gently stealing,
So sad and yet so sweet, they bring a tear
And longing for a voice I’ll never hear.
(This poem was sent in to Ireland’s Own in 1932 by
Kitty Fitzgerald, 159 North Strand Road, Dublin.)