Quote of the Day (Poet Norman Nicholson, As a New Year—and Winter—Kicks In)

“The stars wheel past the windows
Like flocks of winter sparrows;
The bell clangs out the hours,
And frost sparkles like stars.”—English poet Norman Nicholson (1914-1987), “For the New Year,” in Five Rivers (1945)

I heard these and the remaining verses from this poem recited on a BBC Radio classical music show yesterday morning. I fell in love with the beautiful imagery, and thought that, before the first week of the new year ended, there was still time to celebrate the time of the year it’s evoking.

I took the photo accompanying this post in Overpeck County Park, not far from where I live in Bergen County, NJ, just before Christmas 2020.