Calvin Ross
As Calvin tweaked this piece he wrote several years ago, he pondered our classmates, many gone now, and pictured others gathered around a hearth on New Year’s Eve to drink, sing, and celebrate the rich gifts of our lives spent together over the years.
OLD LONG SINCE
Raise high a toast to seasons past,
Belt out each verse of Auld Lang Syne,
Against the hearth I’ll smash my glass.
Aye! Tap, my friends, the oldest cask,
Toss off your coat, fill full your stein,
Raise high a toast to memories past.
The room will ring with lusty laughs
Of bygone times that lit our prime,
On wistful stones to smash your glass.
Each ending dies as dry field grass,
Slowly chokes your breath and mine,
So toast those bloody seasons past.
Remove pretense of pseudo masks,
Let aging open natural rhyme,
On all regrets I’ll smash my glass.
Earth has not yet slipped our grasp,
So put your lips to its sweet wine,
Raise high a toast to seasons past,
Against the hearth I’ll smash my glass.
Editor’s Note: Calvin’s poem is patterned after a specific poem format called Villanelle.
