My New Birthday

I will have a new birthday to-day,
A birth from the dark to the light,
From the sad to the jubilant way,
From weakness to masterful might.
What matters the time I was born?
New birth I now can attain;
New life in this wakening morn,
New hope, new heart, and new brain!
Good-by to the outworn fears,
Good-by to the ancient strife,
Farewell to the doubts of hesitant years
And the failure of olden life.
I am done, this day I am done
With the folly of cherished sin.
I will stand upright, I will face the sun,
And the angels may look within!
For I do not stand alone.
With thee, O Creator Christ.
I seize the crown and I mount the throne,
And assume the wealth unpriced.
With thee, O Lord of all good!
With thee, Inspirer of cheer!
I dare and I grasp all that man ever could,
And I enter my pristine year.
New birth, imperial birth,
New kingship of body and time,
A fresh-made soul for a fresh-made earth,
And joy in its blossoming prime!
Irrevocably I go
Forth, forth on the opening way,
To achieve, to enjoy, to discover, to grow,
For I take a new birthday—to-day!