Poems (Kennedy)/The Written Scroll

by Sara Beaumont Kennedy

THE WRITTEN SCROLL

(NEW YEAR)

YEAR'S ending, and the long scroll lies
Unrolled beneath our aching eyes—
 The written scroll of all the deeds
That filled the measure of the year—
A phrase of hope, a line of fear,
 A reaching out to higher creeds—

A tender word that soothed a friend,
A smile that lasted to the end
 Of some fierce trial of the heart,
The brave, bright smile of duty done;
A hand reached to some stumbling one,
 Too weak to choose the better part;

These are the glories of the scroll,
These high lights of the shriven soul
 That glow across the written page.
But, ah! the blots that mar and stain,
The blots we ne'er can cleanse again
 Because of sin they are the wage!

The sin of hate, the sin of greed,
The scandal spread, the unjust deed,
 The coward-shirking of a blame;
These seemed so small when they were done,
Now as we read them one by one
 They smite our hearts with sudden shame.
*******
The scroll is finished. Heart of mine,
Learn well the lesson of each line,
 The warning whispered from above.
Another scroll God gives you here,
A new page for the untried year—
 Oh, write it full of hope and love!