The New Year's Personification

[deckardcanine]

The New Year’s personification most often
Appears as a two-year-old boy
In only a diaper, a sash with his number,
And still a top hat today, oy.

We tend to see outgoing years greeting new ones.
The old ones will sport a gray beard,
An hourglass, a cloak, and a scythe—wait a sec:
They become Father Time? Now that’s weird.

I doubt if I’ve ever seen midway depictions,
When years are an interim age.
There must be a point of equipment transition.
Alas, it is always offstage.

Just once have I seen a year coming or going
Depicted as female, and yes,
The maker’s idea was “the Year of the Woman.”
When was that? I think you can guess.