THE POET’S CALENDAR
JANUARY
I.
JANUS am I; oldest of potentates;
Forward I look, and backward, and below
I count, as god of avenues and gates,
The years that through my portals come and go.
II.
I block the roads, and drift the fields with snow;
I chase the wild-fowl from the frozen fen;
My frosts congeal the rivers in their flow,
My fires light up the hearths and hearts of men.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882).
Uit: In the Harbour. In: the Oxford Edition of
The Complete Poetical Works of Longfellow
_________
Afbeelding: De dichter in 1868.