Life, 1921-12-29 · page 27 of 35
Life — December 29, 1921 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1922 *Life* magazine page presents a humorous poem by George S. Chappell mocking New Year's resolutions. The poem depicts a man confronting the infant New Year (personified as a baby in a cradle marked "1922"), who cries upon seeing him—implying the man's poor character. The satire centers on the speaker's transparently insincere promises: he'll be "a better man," yet immediately undermines himself with qualifications and excuses. He promises to stop upsetting the Dean during sermons (implying he disrupts church), to abandon Sunday golf binges, and to stop advertising his failures—all while making the same vows he's apparently made repeatedly before. The joke targets the universal human tendency to make grandiose but hollow New Year's pledges. The ornate decorative border with cherubs and classical imagery frames the self-deluding protagonist, emphasizing the mock-serious tone of his transparently hollow commitments.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Ballade of Good Intentions (After New Year's) Atty babe of winsome mien, The New Year in his cradle lies, Blinking upon the worldly scene Which greets his unaccustomed eyes. Then, of a sudden, me he spies And infant anguish rends the air. Am I the reason why he cries? T'll be a better man, I swear! Be calm, I pray, O wailing wean, Nor still accuse me in this wise. A reprobate I may have been In spite of oft-repeated tries, But does it pay to advertise My failures? Come, sweet child, be fair, And though I win not virtue’s prize, Tl be a better man, I swear. No more will I upset the Dean Who strives, poor soul, to sermonize While I, outside, o’er-shoot the green, And shriek my fury to the skies. No more, on Sunday, will I rise With naught but golf to cause me care. At least until the last snow tlies Tl be a better man, I swear. UEnvoi Princeling, I beg you, but devise A model, virtuous and rare; And, though he wear an angel's guise, Til be a better man, I swear! George S. Chappell comicbooks.com