92 New Year’s Poems to Welcome New Beginnings
The start of a new year is a time of reflection, renewal, and hope.
It’s a moment to leave the past behind and embrace the prospects of the future. And what better way to welcome the New Year than with poetry?
Poems for the New Year capture the spirit of new beginnings, offering inspiration, reflection, and a sense of optimism for the future.
From famous poets to lesser-known writers, these New Year’s poems explore the themes of renewal, change, and hope that are so integral to the New Year.
Through their words, we can find solace, inspiration, and a renewed sense of purpose as we embark on the journey that is the New Year.
Funny New Year’s Poems
Start the New Year with a smile on your face with these funny and light-hearted New Year’s poems. Are you ready to enjoy these interesting poems about New Year?
1. Starting a New Year
by Andrew Crisci
Shades stored away
Tattoos removed
Articled reviewed
Room painted as clay
Tarot left unread
Ink spills on pencils
Nails manicured
Got rid of nickels
American heroes return
New medals are given
End their hurdles again
With a handful of kindness and generosity
Year after year they fought the enemy
Enraged mothers wail with pain
America still mourns
Rampage of innocents
2. My New Year’s Resolution
by Jan Allison
My new year’s resolution is I’m going to get thinner
So I purchased a ‘Weightwatchers’ meal as a TV dinner
When I looked at the ingredients I discovered it’s a racket
There is more nutritional value if had I eaten the blinking packet!
3. On New Year’s Day
by Anonymous
On New Year’s Day a year ago,
I started off the year
by making resolutions
that were probably severe.
I said I’d save my money,
as this seemed so very wise.
I vowed I would improve my health.
I swore I’d exercise.
I stated I would do my homework
every single day.
I’d brush my teeth religiously
to ward off tooth decay.
4. A Lean New Year
by Jan Allison
I let out a scream when I stand on the scales –
the bitter truth, I’ve joined the species of whales!
I plan to go on a new weight loss diet
food is grilled, you must never fry it!
Those pre packed diet foods are such a racket
there’s more nutrients in the cardboard packet
I’ll be enrolling at the local gym
and with luck I’ll be thin as a pin
I’m going to take up weight lifting
and think of the pounds I’ll be shifting
In my Lycra I’ll cut such a dash
I hope I don’t get a nasty sweat rash!
I’ll give up candy and drinking root beer
Looks like I’m in for a depressing year!
5. This Year’s New Year’s Eve Forecast
by Anonymous
This year’s New Year’s Eve forecast;
A row with the girlfriend, acute loneliness
Followed by being mostly drunk with
A very slight chance of unconsciousness
6. When the Clock Strikes
by Anonymous
When the clock strikes
The midnight hour
One year ends
And another begins
With an explosion
Of pyrotechnic splendour
Lavishly ostentatious
Many thousands of pounds
Up in smoke
Is it really worth it?
Would it not be better spent
On the homeless
And the lost?
And so begin a new year
With new hope
7. Clumsy I Guess
by Richard Breese
fumble, bumble, flop and drop
yes no doubt i am a sop
this new years resolution
uphold my constitution
dust myself off with a mop.
8. See Monkey See
by Cecilia Patterson
seasons, old, old, new year,
See Monkey See
The new year has arrived
With a new format for the brain
Made promises to myself
Made with intentions to keep
All the ones of the past
Now gone with an old year
One now at rest
One I gave all my best
New patterns
New people
New thoughts
New harbor
New begin
New me
Now like the old saying
It’s time to
“See Monkey See”
Famous New Year’s Poems
Famous poets have captured the essence of the New Year in their works. Explore these timeless classics and ring in the New Year in style with these famous poems about New Year.
1. Old Year, Good-Night!
by Alexander Maclean
Old Year, good night! A faithful friend
You’ve been to us, and Heaven send
You peace, as through the noisy night
You take your long and solemn flight
Adown the path we all descend.
You brought us merry hours to spend;
In gratitude we would forfend
From you the thought of parting-slight;
Old Year, good-night
Good-night! and when we, too, must wend
Our midnight way your path to attend,
Come, good old Year, and bring a light
To make our path a little bright;
Not here, not now, let friendship end;
Old Year, good-night!
2. An Awesome Year
by Catherine Pulsifer
A new year, is it the end
Or is it a new beginning
Does our life just blend
Or is it winning?
As the new year starts
A time of reflection is good
Are we living with heart
Are we doing what we should?
So as the year begins
We should set our goals
And take action to win
Don’t be stopped by the potholes.
Be determined to have a good year
You will face challenges but you can overcome
If your attitude is positive and of good cheer
The year can be one that is awesome!
3. Welcome, New Year
by Nona Keen Duffy
Welcome the New Year,
Let the bells ring!
Lift up your voices;
Everyone sing!
The New Year’s beginning;
Start it off right.
Bid it good fortune
And welcome tonight.
The Old Year is passing,
But there’s none to mourn.
We are rejoicing;
The New Year is born!
4. I Pack My Trunk
by Amos Russel Wells
What shall I pack up to carry
From the old year to the new?
I’ll leave out the frets that harry,
Thoughts unjust and doubts untrue.
Angry words—ah, how I rue them!
Selfish deeds and choices blind—
Any one is weicome to them!
I shall leave them all behind.
Plans? the trunk would need be double.
Hopes? they’d burst the stoutest lid.
Sharp ambitions? last year’s stubble!
Take them, old year! Keep them hid!
All my fears shall be forsaken,
All my failures manifold;
Nothing gloomy shall be taken
To the new year from the old.
But I’ll pack the sweet remembrance
Of dear friendship’s least delight;
All my jokes—I’ll carry them hence;
All my store of fancies bright;
My contentment—would ’twere greater!
All the courage I possess;
All my trust—there’s not much weight there!
All my faith or more or less;
All my tasks! I’ll not abandon
One of these, my pride, my health;
Every trivial or grand one
Is a noble mine of wealth.
And I’ll pack my choicest treasure,
Smiles I’ve seen, and praises heard,
Memories of unselfish pleasure,
Cheery looks, the kindly word.
Ah, my riches silence cavil!
To my rags I hid adien!
Like a Croesus I shall travel
From the old year to the new.
5. New Year’s Birds
by Anonymous
Sun on New Year’s morning
Laughing at the snow;
Trees hung thick with jewels,
Icicles aglow.
All the earth in ermine,
All the air in blue,
All the bells a jingle;
“Ho! the year is new.”
Out to greet the new world
All so white and pure,
See our household darling,
Dainty and demure.
“Happy New Year, snowbirds!
Happy New Year, sun!
Happy New Year oak-tree!
Happy, every one!”
From the blue sky dropping
To the white earth down,
Here the New Year’s birds come,
Dressed in white and brown.
“Happy New Year, darling!”
Thus the gay birds sing.
“New Year’s presents, darling,
Merrily we bring.”
“My gift,” said the first bird,
“Is your mother’s love.”
“My gift,” said the second,
“Is the sun above.”
“Mine is your sweet home, dear.”
“Mine is fire and food.”
“Mine is Jesus’ praises
When His child is good.”
“My gift is nice clothing.”
“Mine is play and fun.”
“Mine is rest and slumber
When the day is done.”
Eight birds softly singing
In the New Year’s glow,
As our happy darling
Trudges through the snow.
New Year’s birds, gift laden,
Singing hale and true,—
Listen softly children
They will sing to you!
6. New-Year’s Morning
by Lydia Sigourney
Wake, dear ones, ’tis the New-Year’s morn,
And many a wish for you is born,
And many a prayer, of spirit true
Breaks from paternal lips for you.
No more the vales with daisies glow,
The violets sleep, beneath the snow,
The rose her radiant robes doth fold
And hides her buds from winter’s cold.
But Spring, with gentle smile shall call
Up from their beds, those slumberers all
Fresh verdure o’er your path shall swell,
The brook its tuneful story tell,
And graceful flowers, with varied bloom,
Again your garden’s bound perfume.
Ye are our buds; and in your breast
The promise of our hope doth rest.
When knowledge, like the breath of Spring,
Shall wake your minds to blossoming,
May their unfolding germs disclose,
More than the fragrance of the rose,
More than the brightness of the stream
That through green shades, with sparkling gleam
In peace and purity doth glide
On to the Ocean’s mighty tide.
The country too, which gave you birth,
That freest, happiest clime on earth,
To all, to each, with fervour cries,
“Oh for my sake, be good, be wise,
Seek knowledge, and with studious pain,
Resolve, her priceless gold to gain.
Shun the strong cup, whose poisonous tide
To ruin’s dark abyss, doth guide,
And with the sons of virtue stand,
The bulwark of your native land.
Me would you serve? This day begin
The fear of God, the dread of sin;
Love, for instruction’s watchful care,
The patient task, the nightly prayer;
So shall you glitter as a gem,
Bound in my brightest diadem.”
7. The New-Year Mine
by Anonymous
Every year’s a hidden mine;
Stoutly up, and work it!
What though anxious toil is thine?
Never think to shirk it.
Half the mine, as I am told,
Harbors dust and ashes;
Half the mine is precious gold,—
Ah, how bright it flashes!
Sink the shaft of Lazy Mind,
(What a dreadful bore, sir!)
Dust and ashes you will find,
That and nothing more sir!
Sink the shaft of Earnest Heart,—
Lo, the treasure glances,
Gleaming gay in every part
Where your pick advances!
See, my lad, the New-Year Mine
Bright with promise-flashes!
Will you dig for treasure fine,
Or only dust and ashes?
8. A New Year
by Amos Russel Wells
I want a new year. New things are not patched.
So would I start my year all finely whole,
No gaps of dull omissions meanly closed
With poorly fitting fragments of dispatch,
No mendings of ignoble after-thought,
But all one piece of steady warp and woof,
A year entire, as all my years should be.
I want a new year. New things are not worn.
Not thin in places, ragged here and there,
And loose bits hanging down; no year all frayed,
With fears and worries bare before its time;
But firm and confident, a brave new year.
I want a new year. Do not new things shine?
Do they not shimmer in the dancing light?
Are they not smooth and gracious to the touch?
Is it not joy to take them from the box?
And shake them out in tumbling, happy folds,
And hold them up for all men to admire?
So, with a burst of joy, my glad new year.
I want a new year. Ah, but new things cost!
Well, I will pay the price of this new year:
The price of patience, and the price of time;
The price of prayers ascending to the God
Who was before all years began to be,
And will be through the new years as the old;
The price of partings from the lower aims,
Of stanch adhesion to the rugged best;
The price of life!
I cannot pay the price.
Pay Thou for me, O Christ, my brother Christ!
Be Thou my Patience, and be Thou my Prayer;
Be Thou my Strength of hard, laborious will.
From out Thine endless ages with my God
Bring newness to this little year of mine.
So shall it be Thy year and not my own,
Yet doubly mine, as I shall dwell with Thee;
Yes, doubly mine, as through it I shall pass
To Thine eternity forever new.
9. Prayer for the New Year
by Edgar A. Guest
Grant me the strength from day to day
To bear what burdens come my way.
Grant me throughout this bright New Year
More to endure and less to fear.
Help me to live that I may be
From spite and petty malice free.
Let me not bitterly complain
When cherished hopes of mine prove vain,
Or spoil with deeds of hate and rage
Some fair tomorrow’s spotless page.
Lord, as the days shall come and go
In courage let me stronger grow.
Lord, as the New Year dawns today
Help me to put my faults away.
Let me be big in little things;
Grant me the joy which friendship brings.
Keep me from selfishness and spite;
Let me be wise in what is right.
A happy New Year! Grant that I
May bring no tear to any eye.
When this New Year in time shall end
Let it be said I’ve played the friend,
Have lived and loved and labored here,
And made of it a happy year.
10. Another Year
by Frances R. Havergal
Another year is dawning!
Dear Master, let it be,
In working or in waiting.
Another year with thee.
Another year of progress.
Another year of praise;
Another year of proving
Thy presence “all the days.”
Another year is dawning!
Dear Master, let it be.
On earth, or else in heaven,
Another year for thee.
11. The Old Year’s Book
by Anonymous
Now close the book and lay it away –
The Old Year’s Book; we have read it through;
Leaf after leaf, and day after day.
We have turned the pages, both I and you.
What it has told us full well we know;
Each for himself the story has read;
A bitter tragedy, full of woe –
Alas! they found it who mourn their dead.
And some have read of trial and pain,
Of weary burdens, so hard to bear,
Of bright hopes crushed, again and
Turning its pages in blank despair.
“A pleasant story,” others may say,
“Telling us more of joy than of pain;
Almost sadly we lay it away –
Would we might open and read it again!”
And some have read it with love’s own eyes,
By the light that love alone can give.
While the pages glowed with sweet surprise.
And life were joy, and ’twere joy to live.
But close the book – the story is old;
Lay it away with a smile or a tear;
Written in black, or written in gold,
We open the book of another year.
Inspirational New Year’s Poems
Find motivation and inspiration for the year ahead with these uplifting and inspirational poems about New Year. Let their words guide you toward a brighter and better tomorrow.
1. This New Year
by Aleena
Even during the worst of times
When I feel the years go slipping by
Life seems rife with possibilities
When the New Year arrives.
Buoyed by hope at the New Year coming
I feel renewed and want to start living.
This year I’ll travel and see the sights,
I’ll be bold, I’ll be courageous.
I’ll reach out and go beyond.
I might even try being flirtatious!
I’ll be a new fish in a brand-new pond.
This new year I’ll be brave and I’ll be strong.
Even though time does fly,
I won’t let this year be wasted.
I’ll look forward to new adventures
And be open to opportunities I am graced with.
I’ll learn and laugh and have good times.
I won’t dwell on years gone by.
I’ll start each new morning a brand-new way.
I’ll pretend it is New Year’s Day!
2. Happy New Year!
by John P.
Brush away old heartaches.
Learn from our mistakes.
Another year is finally over.
A new dawn awakes.
Let the old year out.
Welcome the new one in.
Bury the bad things of the past
As a new year now begins.
Make your New Year wishes
As simple as you can.
Pray for peace and love,
Not for wealth or fame.
Pray for health and happiness.
Pray for your fellow man.
Pray for all the ones you love.
Pray for those who’ve lost their way.
As the midnight hour chimes,
We leave the old and embrace the new.
I wish the things you wish for yourself,
And may God’s love stay with you.
3. New Year
by Sandra Hearth
Another year is coming to a close.
We can forget our troubles and woes.
For me, this year was tough.
It brought many emotions, was tearful and rough.
Now another year is approaching fast.
Let’s hope it’s a New Year with love and health; let’s hope it’s a blast.
May all of your dreams come true
And you find peace and love in all that you do.
May this world know the gentle sound of a hush.
May it calm all its anger and slow its pace from the rush.
May we all hear the sound of joy
And push away all that hurts, all that destroys.
The New Year I hope will be good to us all.
Care and calm, a helping hand when we fall.
Listen more, slow down, and say I love you.
Stop for a moment; take a breath, take in the view.
Appreciate your family; tell them you care.
Do something exciting, a thrill or a dare.
Enjoy all that the New Year may give.
We have but one life, so let’s learn to live.
It’s a New Year, a brand new start.
Always remember, live and love from your heart.
Wishing each and every one a year to behold,
And may it be full of wonders for you to unfold.
Love, hugs, and kisses too…
A very happy New Year from me to you.
4. Teach Us
by Mrs, Craik
O New- Year, teach us faith!
The road of life is hard:
When our feet bleed, and scourging winds us scath.
Point thou to Him whose visage was more marred
Than any man’s, who saith,
“Make straight paths for your feet,” and, to the opprest,
“Come to me, and I will give you rest.”
Yet hang some lamp-like hope
Above this unknown way.
Kind year, to give our spirits freer scope,
And our hands strength to work while it is day.
But if that way must slope
Tombward, oh bring before our fading eyes
The lamp of life, the hope that never dies!
5. New Year
by Katharine Lee Bates
White year, white year,
Muffled soft in snow,
A diamond spray whose gems are gone
Before their grace we know,
A crystal-coated spray whose hours
Melt when looked upon,
Hoarfrost stars and hoarfrost flowers,
White year!
Green year, green year,
Sweet with sun and showers,
A windblown spray whose blossoms bright
Are the seven-colored hours,
A dancing spray whose leaves are days,
A spray whose leaves delight
In azure gleam and silver haze,
Green year!
New Year, new year
From rosy leaf to gold,
A shining spray on the Tree of Time
Where myriad sprays unfold,
A spray so fair that God may see
And gather it, bloom and rime,
To deck the doors of Eternity,
New Year!
6. Ring Out, Wild Bells
by Alfred Tennyson
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.
Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.
Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.
Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.
7. In the New Year
by Trupti Paliwal
In this new year,
Let’s talk more, chat less.
Let’s call more, text less.
Let’s meet more, Skype less.
Let’s travel more, collect less.
Let’s care more, ignore less.
Let’s do more, gossip less.
Let’s praise more, blame less.
Let’s share more, accumulate less.
Let’s experience more, fear less.
Let’s love more, hate less.
8. Live Your Dream
by John P. Read
Another year is almost over.
A new one’s about to begin.
Say goodbye to all the negative stuff.
Move on with the positive things.
Forget those New Year’s resolutions.
They are never what they seem.
Resolutions are no sooner made than broken.
It’s far better to follow your dreams.
Let’s pray for health and happiness
And for peace in the New Year too.
And as those bells ring out at midnight,
I hope those dreams you dream come true.
9. New Year’s Eve
by Anonymous
This is the last day of the year
they call it new years eve
look back at all the memories
this year you’re going to leave
Some you will cherish always
and keep for all it’s worth
because someone close to you
has been gifted with a birth
Some others you wish to forget
but know you never will
for someone close passed over
and some were never ill
Some will be very pleasant
and close to your heart
sit down and list the good things
back to january make a start
So when you feel unhappy
in the new upcoming year
sit down and read your memories
and smile from ear to ear
Don’t ponder on the bad things now
only tears will be shed
for tomorrow is a new start
a new year is ahead
10. It’s a New Year Dare to….
by Anonymous
Ask for what you want
Believe in miracles
Change your mind if you feel the need
Do the impossible
Embrace the flow of abundance into all areas of your life
Follow your heart’s desires
Grow and blossom in the garden within
Hold on to your dreams and take flight
Impress your own gorgeous self
Just say yes!
Kick a bad habit right to the curb
Love and be loved
Make many mistakes and see them as lessons learned
Nurture the heart of you
Overcome adversity
Play and embrace your inner child
Quit complaining
Reach for the stars, some of them might be closer than you think
Speak the truth in love
Trust yourself always
Understand yourself in order to better understand others
Visualize the life you want
Wait until it feels right, trust your intuition
Experience the moment
Yank the weeds from your mental garden
Zero in on your target and go for it!
11. The Book of the New Year
by Emily Bugbee Johnson
The book of the new year is opened;
Its pages are spotless and new;
And so, as each leaflet is turning,
Dear children, beware what you do!
Let never a bad thought be cherished;
Keep the tongue from a whisper of guile
And see that your faces are windows,
Through which a sweet spirit shall smile.
And weave for your souls the fair garments
Of honor and beauty and truth,
Which will still with a glory enfold you
When faded the spell of your youth.
And now with the new book endeavor
To write its white pages with care;
Each day is a leaflet, remember,
That is written, then turned — beware!
And if on a page you discover
At evening a blot or a scrawl,
Kneel quickly and ask the dear Savior
In mercy to cover it all.
So when the strange book shall be finished,
And clasped by the angel so tight,
You may feel, though the work be imperfect
You have earnestly tried for the right.
And think how the years are the stairway
On which you must climb to the skies;
And strive that your standing be higher
As each one away from you flies.
Short New Year’s Poems
Sometimes less is more, and that is certainly true of these short poetries about New Year. Packed with meaning and emotion, they are perfect for sharing with loved ones.
1. A New Year Wish
by Anonymous
“May every soul that touches thine
Be it the slightest contact, get therefrom some good,
Some little grace, one kindly thought,
One aspiration yet unfelt; one bit of courage
For the darkening sky, one gleam of faith.”
2. The New Year
by Dinah M. Craik
Who comes dancing over the snow,
His soft little feet all bare and rosy?
Open the door, though the wild wind blow,
Take the child in and make him cozy,
Take him in and hold him dear,
Here is the wonderful glad New Year.
3. New Year
by Somya
With a new beginning and fresh start,
Full of inspiration and positive thoughts,
Let’s begin this year with an optimistic thought.
Gone are the days of regret and guilt,
Those rooms full of darkness.
It’s time to move with courage,
Full of confidence and hope.
Let’s begin this year with an optimistic thought.
4. The Little New Year’s Come to Stay
by Annette Wynne
The little new year’s come to stay,
To be our guest for many a day;
O let us keep the new year new
By being earnest, brave, and true,
And doing kind things all year through-
So only, can the little year
Stay new and bright and full of cheer.
5. The New Year
by Anonymous
May the year that is dawning
So fresh and so pure,
Be full of the pleasures
That always endure.
The sunshine of love,
The joy of kind deeds,
The brightness of smiles
That the sad world so needs.
The kindly word uttered,
The angry unspoken:
The merry heart’s laughter,
To heal the hearts broken.
And when the New Year
Has grown old and gray,
May you give it back spotless
And pure as today.
6. What Do You Hold in Your Hand, New Year?
by Annette Wynne
What do you hold in your hand, New Year?
A sheaf of many hours—
Take them, hold them very dear,
Snow and rain and flowers;
You are blest if you but see
Sunshine through the showers.
7. A New Year Foretold
by Debra L. Brown
This New Year has been foretold.
Your future is at hand.
God knows the fate and outcome
of each and every man.
God has chosen the narrow road.
His wisdom is leading the way.
His great strength can carry your load.
His compassion you will feel every day.
With a new dawn over the horizon,
and the Lord to lead the way,
you can spread your wings like an eagle
and soar through every day.
8. God Bless You
by Catherine Pulsifer
God keep and bless you on this special day
God watch over you this I always pray
God give you faith to see your dreams come true
And on this New Year may God bless you.
9. Faith, Hope and Love
by Anonymous
Out of the silent places
The young year comes to light,
Bringing new pain, new sadness.
New care and new delight.
Go forth to meet him bravely,
The New Year all untried,
The things the Old Year left with us –
Faith, Hope, and Love – abide.
Long New Year’s Poems
If you’re looking for a more immersive New Year experience, look no further than these longer poems. Take a deep dive into the themes of renewal, change, and hope, and emerge with a renewed sense of purpose.
1. Welcoming the New Year
by Arthur Weir
We gathered, a jovial party,
Together on New Year’s eve,
To welcome the coming monarch
And to see the old one leave.
We chatted around the fireside,
And wondered what time would bring:
We had not a tear for the parting year,
But longed for the coming king.
For youth reaches ever forward,
And drops from its eager clasp
The realized gifts of fortune,
Some phantom of hope to grasp.
Soon a maiden spoke of the custom,
Now lapsed in this age of prose,
To open the door for the New Year
The instant the Old Year goes;
Then, leaving the door wide open,
To stand in the silent street
And, with a generous “welcome,”
The entering guest to greet.
It suited our youthful fancy,
And, when the glad chimes began,
From our cosy nook by the fireside
Down into the street we ran.
And, far and near, we all could hear
The great bells ringing out the year,
And, as they tolled, the music rolled,
Hoarse-sounding, over town and wold.
“The year is dead,” Gros Bourdon said,
The clanging echoes quivering fled,
And, far and wide, on every side,
The bells to one another cried.
The mountain woke, and from its cloak
Shook off the echoes, stroke for stroke.
Then silence fell on hill and bell,
And echoes ceased to sink and swell.
Standing beside the door wide open thrown,
Her voice more musical than any bird’s,
And with a winning sweetness all its own,
Our Queen thus winged her joyous thoughts with words:
“Ring out, bells, ring! Sing, mountain, sing!
The king is dead, long live the king!
Now fast, now slow; now loud, now low,
Send out your chimes across the snow.
“Old Year, adieu; welcome the New,
The door stands open here for you.
Come in, come in, the bells begin
To falter in their merry din.”
Then, as the great bells ceased to swing, two broke
A silver coin, for luck in days to come,
And though no tender words of love they spoke
Yet hearts speak best when most the lips are dumb.
2. The Benefactor
by Hannah Flagg Gould
Unsullied by time, and undimmed by a tear,
But fresh, on the wing of the new-born year,
I come, a pure and a holy thing;
And to all, who receive me, some gift I bring.
For childhood, amused with its stories and toys,
I’ve a lasting supply of those innocent joys;
And a breastplate of truth, that I’ll place o’er its heart,
To keep it unspotted from falsehood and art.
I give to the youth, as his hopes are full-blown,
Those hopes undeceived till their fruits are full-grown:
In the landscape of life, that before him is spread,
I will leave not a thorn, where I know he must tread.
I grant to the young and the beautiful maid
A form ne’er to wither—a cheek ne’er to fade—
A heart not to grieve that the lip oft may smile,
And treachery lurk in the bosom the while!
I give to the aged, to whom life must seem,
As ‘t is past in review, like a short, busy dream,
The peace undisturbed which may spring from the trust,
That, beyond time and earth, they shall live with the just.
For you, who are treading the gay, giddy round
Of fashion and folly, for you I have found
A far nobler work for your life’s fleeting day;
And I give to you wisdom to shine on your way.
To the prisoner, immured in the dark, starless night
Of a dungeon, I give heaven’s pure air and light;
And the power, though his hands may be crimson with guilt,
To wash themselves white from the blood they have spilt.
I give to the exile, who’s destined to roam
From parent, from brother and sister and home,
A welcome from him, who, those treasures possessing,
Shall find himself blest in bestowing the blessing.
For the poor I’ve a shelter from cold and from storm;
I’ve bread for his mouth, and a garb for his form;
But chiefly, a spirit to soar from the dust
To a treasure on high, safe from moth and from rust.
To the rich, for their deeds, as a final reward,
I will leave but the look and the word of their Lord:
May they hear, with a smile, from their Master divine,
“Ye have done unto me what ye did unto mine!”
Thus, for high and for low, for the young and the old,
For the wise and the foolish I’ve treasures untold;
And WISH is my name—but ye never must hear
What bosom I sprang from to hail the NEW YEAR!
3. The Death of the Old Year
by Alfred Tennyson
Full knee-deep lies the winter snow,
And the winter winds are wearily sighing:
Toll ye the church bell sad and slow,
And tread softly and speak low,
For the old year lies a-dying.
Old year you must not die;
You came to us so readily,
You lived with us so steadily,
Old year you shall not die.
He lieth still: he doth not move:
He will not see the dawn of day.
He hath no other life above.
He gave me a friend and a true true-love
And the New-year will take ’em away.
Old year you must not go;
So long you have been with us,
Such joy as you have seen with us,
Old year, you shall not go.
He froth’d his bumpers to the brim;
A jollier year we shall not see.
But tho’ his eyes are waxing dim,
And tho’ his foes speak ill of him,
He was a friend to me.
Old year, you shall not die;
We did so laugh and cry with you,
I’ve half a mind to die with you,
Old year, if you must die.
He was full of joke and jest,
But all his merry quips are o’er.
To see him die across the waste
His son and heir doth ride post-haste,
But he’ll be dead before.
Every one for his own.
The night is starry and cold, my friend,
And the New-year blithe and bold, my friend,
Comes up to take his own.
How hard he breathes! over the snow
I heard just now the crowing cock.
The shadows flicker to and fro:
The cricket chirps: the light burns low:
‘Tis nearly twelve o’clock.
Shake hands, before you die.
Old year, we’ll dearly rue for you:
What is it we can do for you?
Speak out before you die.
His face is growing sharp and thin.
Alack! our friend is gone,
Close up his eyes: tie up his chin:
Step from the corpse, and let him in
That standeth there alone,
And waiteth at the door.
There’s a new foot on the floor, my friend,
And a new face at the door, my friend,
A new face at the door.
4. New-Year’s Eve and New-Year’s Day
by Bessie Rayner Parkes
Good bye, Old Year!
And with thee take
Thanks for the gifts to every land
Thou broughtest in thy bounteous hand,
And all that thou hast taught to hearts thy lingering steps forsake.
Good bye, Old Year!
The Past awaiteth thee.
Who ruleth in her power alone
The kingdom of Oblivion.
Silent she sits in ebon chair;
Falling mists of dusky hair
Veil her dark eyes’ glorious shine,
Full of wise help, and truth divine.
Silent, unless a fitful sound,
As from some cavern underground,
Steal from her lips; the company
Of ancient Years that round her be,
Then chanting, one by one, give tongue
To old experience in their song.
Good bye, Old Year!
Thou goest forth alone,
As we shall do: thy pages gay,
Seasons and months who round thee lay,
Attend thee to Earth’s farthest verge, then back! to greet thy son.
Hail, New-born Year!
Cradled in morning clouds
Golden and white. I cannot see
Thy face–’tis wrapp’d in mystery;
But Spring for thee is painting flowers,
And Summer decks her woven bowers;
Rich Autumn’s sheaves will soon be reap’d,
With store of fruits in sunbeams steep’d,
And one by one with gentle hand folds back thy sunlit shrouds.
Hail, New-born Year!
Shining and beautiful,
Thou wilt step forth in plenitude
Of youth and its rejoicing mood.
Last child of the half-century,
And time of coming victory
Over the spirits of night and sin,
Whose howlings of defeat begin:
Thou bringest hope, and labour bless’d
In visions of successful rest,
Bringest great thoughts, and actions wrought
In fire upon that forge of thought,
And with the soul of earnestness I think thy youths are full.
Hail, New-born Year!
My utterance is too weak
To tell of all I think thou bringest,
To echo back the song thou singest;
But the very winds of Heaven for those who listen to them, speak!
5. A New Year Prayer
by Eric R. Harvey
To those who partied around the world
Or those that lay in bed and curled
up to the one they hold so dear
I wish you all Happy New year.
The homeless sleeping on the street
feeling the hunger and defeat,
May these few words fill you with cheer
may you do well this brand New Year.
Those Women fearing for their lives
battered girlfriends, battered wives,
Husbands, boyfriends, living in fear
pray Lord protect them this New Year
For Nurses with devoted ways
caring for someone’s final days,
Stay strong no matter how severe
love is your gift in this New year.
For Police protecting us each day
hand them the torch to light our way,
To face the foe showing no fear
we wish them all a safe New Year
That Fireman risking life and limb
Daily, facing scenes so grim,
those burning buildings hold no fear
May God be with him this New year.
Those soldiers in the line of fire
living life close to the wire
From Private to the Brigadier
May God protect you this New Year.
For those alone, without a friend
I hope your darkness soon will end,
Your guiding light is close – so near
may friendship find you this New Year.
Talk to your friends don’t text them all
speak face to face without phone call.
Make pals feel wanted, keep them near
make them happy this brand New Year.
Those people who’ve lost faith, like me
who have no other Deity
May churchfolk comfort them – endear
restore their faith in this New Year.
Around the World we should link hands
North, South, East, West to all Gods lands,
Should learn to live in love – not fear
let’s make this year a brave New Year.
6. The Closing Year
by Anonymous
‘T is midnight’s holy hour, and silence now
Is brooding like a gentle spirit o’er
The still and pulseless world. Hark! on the winds,
The bell’s deep notes are swelling; ‘t is the knell
Of the departed year.
No funeral train
Is sweeping past; yet, on the stream and wood,
With melancholy light, the moonbeams rest
Like a pale, spotless shroud; the air is stirred
As by a mourner’s sigh; and, on yon cloud,
That floats so still and placidly through heaven,
The spirits of the Seasons seem to stand—
Young Spring, bright Summer, Autumn’s solemn form,
And Winter, with his aged locks—and breathe
In mournful cadences, that come abroad
Like the far wind harp’s wild and touching wail,
A melancholy dirge o’er the dead year,
Gone from the earth forever.
‘Tis a time
For memory and for tears. Within the deep,
Still chambers of the heart, a specter dim,
Whose tones are like the wizard voice of Time,
Heard from the tomb of ages, points its cold
And solemn finger to the beautiful
And holy visions, that have passed away,
And left no shadow of their loveliness
On the dead waste of life. That specter lifts
The coffin lid of Hope, and Joy, and Love,
And, bending mournfully above the pale,
Sweet forms that slumber there, scatters dead flowers
O’er what has passed to nothingness.
The year
Has gone, and, with it, many a glorious throng
Of happy dreams. Its mark is on each brow,
Its shadow in each heart. In its swift course
It waved its scepter o’er the beautiful,
And they are not. It laid its pallid hand
Upon the strong man; and the haughty form
Is fallen, and the flashing eye is dim.
It trod the hall of revelry, where thronged
The bright and joyous; and the tearful wail
Of stricken ones is heard, where erst the song
And reckless shout resounded. It passed o’er
The battle plain, where sword, and spear, and shield
Flashed in the light of midday; and the strength
Of serried hosts is shivered, and the grass,
Green from the soil of carnage, waves above
The crushed and moldering skeleton. It came,
And faded like a wreath of mist at eve;
Yet, ere it melted in the viewless air,
It heralded its millions to their home
In the dim land of dreams.
Remorseless Time!—
Fierce spirit of the glass and scythe!—what power
Can stay him in his silent course, or melt
His iron heart to pity! On, still on
He presses, and forever. The proud bird,
The condor of the Andes, that can soar
Through heaven’s unfathomable depths, or brave
The fury of the northern hurricane,
And bathe his plumage in the thunder’s home,
Furls his broad wings at nightfall, and sinks down
To rest upon his mountain crag; but Time
Knows not the weight of sleep or weariness;
And Night’s deep darkness has no chain to bind
His rushing pinion.
Revolutions sweep
O’er earth, like troubled visions o’er the breast
Of dreaming sorrow; cities rise and sink
Like bubbles on the water; fiery isles
Spring blazing from the ocean, and go back
To their mysterious caverns; mountains rear
To heaven their bald and blackened cliffs, and bow
Their tall heads to the plain; new empires rise,
Gathering the strength of hoary centuries,
And rush down, like the Alpine avalanche,
Startling the nations; and the very stars,
Yon bright and burning blazonry of God,
Glitter awhile in their eternal depths,
And, like the Pleiad, loveliest of their train,
Shoot from their glorious spheres, and pass away,
To darkle in the trackless void; yet Time,
Time the tomb builder, holds his fierce career,
Dark, stern, all pitiless, and pauses not
Amid the mighty wrecks that strew his path,
To sit and muse, like other conquerors,
Upon the fearful ruin he has wrought.
7. The Old Year Now Away
by Anonymous
The old year now away is fled,
The new year it is entered,
Then let us now our sins down-tread
And joyfully all appear.
Let’s merry be this holiday,
And let us now both sport and play,
Hang sorrow, let’s cast care away:
God send you a happy New Year!
And now with New-Year’s gifts each friend
Unto each other they do send;
God grant we may all our lives amend,
And that the truth may appear.
Now like the snake cast off your skin
Of evil thoughts and wicked sin,
And to amend this New Year begin:
God send us a happy New Year!
And now let all the company
In friendly manner all agree,
For we are here welcome, all may see,
Unto this jolly good cheer.
I thank my master and my dame,
The which are founders of the same;
To eat, to drink now is no shame:
God send us a merry New Year!
Come, lads and lasses every one,
Jack, Tom, Dick, Bessy, Mary, and Joan,
Let’s cut the meat up unto the bone,
For welcome you need not fear;
And here for good liquor we shall not lack,
It will whet my brains and strengthen my back;
This jolly good cheer it must go to wrack:
God send us a merry New Year!
Come, give’s more liquor when I do call,
I’ll drink to each one in this hall;
I hope that so loud I must not bawl,
But unto me lend an ear;
Good fortune to my master send,
And to my dame which is our friend,
Lord bless us all, and so I end:
God send us a happy New Year!
New Year’s Poems That Rhyme
Rhyme your way into the New Year with these playful and engaging New Year’s poems that have a fun and catchy rhythm. These poems about New Year with rhyming words will have you tapping your feet in a rhythm.
1. The New-Year Babe
by John B. Tabb
Two together, Babe and Year,
At the midnight chime,
Through the darkness drifted here
To the coast of Time.
Two together, Babe and Year,
Over night and day,
Crossed the desert Winter drear
To the land of May.
On together, Babe and Year
Swift to Summer passed.
“Rest a moment, Brother dear,”
Said the Babe at last.
“Nay, but onward,” answered Year,
“We must farther go,
Through the Vale of Autumn sere
To the Mount of Snow.”
Toiling upward, Babe and Year
Climbed the frozen height.
“We may rest together here,
Brother Babe,—Good-night!”
Then together Babe and Year
Slept; but ere the dawn,
Vanishing, I know not where,
Brother Year was gone!
2. January’s Dawn
by Patricia L. Cisco
Deep in this dark, cold, last night of December,
is one tiny flame of a flickering ember.
like so many memories of Decembers gone by,
tucked in our hearts, memories safely reside,
reminiscing our blessings through all the past years,
of those we have loved, our regrets, and our tears.
As December surrenders to January’s dawn,
that one tiny ember still flickers on,
sparking the flame to new memories born
on the horizon of this New Year’s morn!
3. Seasons Yet to Come
by Rick W. Cotton
They gave us all a calendar
At work this afternoon.
Suddenly it dawns on me,
The year is ending soon!
Comes January, cold and gray.
The new year’s just beginning.
And February, short and bright
With Valentine hearts winning.
Comes March, the windy roaring one
And warm the sun of spring.
Then April, bright of shining sky
And flowers blossoming.
Comes May, and school comes to a close
With children’s happy laughter.
Then June, with open city pools
And picnics soon thereafter.
July comes booming with a bang
Of red-glared rockets blasting.
Then August lingers with its heat
That seems so…everlasting.
September, gold September comes.
The year is growing older.
October with sweet Halloween.
The nights grow dark and colder.
November smells of harvest,
Of turkey and Thanksgiving.
December comes with joy and light
To fill hearts of the living.
Each page I flip and see these things
Of days yet to come.
My calendar is a door to me,
An adventure just begun!
4. The Year
by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
What can be said in New Year rhymes,
That’s not been said a thousand times?
The new years come, the old years go,
We know we dream, we dream we know.
We rise up laughing with the light,
We lie down weeping with the night.
We hug the world until it stings,
We curse it then and sigh for wings.
We live, we love, we woo, we wed,
We wreathe our brides, we sheet our dead.
We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear,
And that’s the burden of the year.
5. Turning Over the New Leaf
by Anonymous
The year begins. I turn the leaf,
All over writ with good resolves;
Each to fulfill will be in chief
My aim while earth its round revolves.
How many a leaf I’ve turned before,
And tried to make the record true;
Each year a wreck on Time’s dull shore
Proved much I dared, but little knew.
Ah, bright resolve! How high you bear
The future’s hopeful standard on;
How brave you start; how poor you wear;
How soon are hope and courage gone!
You point to deeds of sacrifice,
You shun the path of careless ease;
Lentils and wooden shoes? Is this
The fare a human soul to please?
What wonder, then, if men do fall
Where good is ever all austere;
While vice is fair and pleasant all,
And turns the leaf to lead the year?
Yet still once more I turn the leaf,
And mean to walk the better way;
I struggle with old unbelief,
And strive to reach the perfect day.
Why should the road that leads to heaven
Be all one reach of sterile sand?
Why not, just here and there, be given
A rose to deck the dreary land?
But why repine? Others have trod,
With sorer feet and heavier sins,
Their painful pathway toward their God
My pilgrimage anew begins.
Failure and failure, hitherto,
Has time inscribed upon my leaves;
I’ve wandered many a harvest through
And never yet have gathered sheaves;
Yet once again the leaf I turn,
Hope against hope for one success;
One merit-mark at least to earn,
One sunbeam in the wilderness.
6. In You, I Believe
by Yatin B. Thakore
Happiness be with you this coming year,
And may all your problems just disappear.
Passion be with you as your guiding light,
Pushing you to reach ever greater height.
You be kind in the new year, to help those in need,
No place in your heart for cruelty or greed.
Empathy and kindness be your calling card,
When there is a call for help, may you work hard.
Year of 2022, it will soon come ringing,
Eagerly you wait for a new beginning.
Attitude is anew, with goals to achieve,
Rejoice in holidays; in you, I believe.
7. Closing of the Year
by Anonymous
And now at the closing, I want to remind you,
Of the many good times you have left far behind you.
How the thoughts will come up as we meet here each year,
Of the many dear friends who no longer are here;
Not the good times alone this occasion endears.
But as we look back down the vista of years,
Loved faces we see through the mellowing haze
Of sweet retrospect, going back to the days
That friendship has hallowed, whose memory still
We cling to and cherish; the bright thoughts that thrill
Our hearts with a rapture we would not forego
For all that the future may hold: and we know
‘Tis joy of past pleasures and friendships which gives
The charm that shall linger while memory lives.
8. Same Old Love
by Anonymous
Only the same old love, you know,
I sent it to you long ago.
Only the memories of old
That never have grown changed or cold.
No, I have nothing new: and yet
I scarcely think I need regret
That it is so, for you and I
Have precious things from days gone by.
And if good wishes, good can bring,
Mine are with you in everything:
So take the old love tried and true
On from the old year to the new.
New Year’s Poems from Children
Children have a unique perspective on the world, and these New Year’s poems for kids reflect that. Discover the joy and wonder of the New Year through their innocent and imaginative eyes.
1. Here Again We Have a New Beginning
by Nicholas Gordon
Here again we have a new beginning,
An old refrain to start a brand-new verse.
Perhaps the belly droops, the hair is thinning;
Perhaps each year the memory gets worse.
Yet new beginnings always start with hope.
Needing hope to nurture innocence,
Endeavoring to find a way to cope
When nothing deeply thought about makes sense.
Years come and go; Eden doesn’t change.
Each new year we toddle forth again,
Afoot into a world that’s ever strange,
Restored by some great turning tide within.
2. Let the Old Ways Go
by Phil Harris
New Year is here once more,
With its visions of future promise.
The old ways passed by,
And a fresh start, there for the taking.
All is optimism;
Gloom is gone!
Looking for the innocent blossoming of spring
Blooming into a youthful, balmy summer.
But the world does not change.
That beautiful vision of new cleanness.
Comes from within;
From the hope for a better world,
And a desire to let the old ways go.
3. Good Riddance, But Now What?
by Ogden Nash
Come, children, gather round my knee;
Something is about to be.
Tonight’s December thirty-first,
Something is about to burst.
The clock is crouching, dark and small,
Like a time bomb in the hall.
Hark! It’s midnight, children dear.
Duck! Here comes another year.
4. New Year, Good-Morning!
by Alexander Maclean
New Year, good-morning! Come and bring
Us days that smile and days that sing
Out from the drifts of swirling snow
That through the mirky midnight blow
And clutch with frosty hands and cling.
Hark! how the joy-bells chime and ring
Thy birth, and new hope set a-wing.
With hands outstretched you come; and so
New Year, good-morning!
New courage greets their clamoring—
The thought of friends, the thought of spring,
Of kindly solace for our woe,
Of happiness we’re still to know;
We wait your accolade, O King!
New Year, good-morning!
5. Fresh New Year
by William Arthur Ward
Another fresh New Year is here…
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt and fear,
To love, and laugh and give!
This bright New Year is given me
To live each day with zest…
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!
I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!
6. I’ll Wear a Smile!
by Lenore Hetrick
I’ll wear a smile!
That’s my resolution.
I’ll wear a smile!
Though the skies are dark
All the while
I’ll wear a smile!
Then the year will be
One long, happy lark!
7. A New Year’s Prayer
by Abby Willowroot
May I be a healing energy,
May I be a benefit to all,
May my life enrich others,
May I know what matters,
And live in harmony with nature
8. How to Be Happy This New Year
by Anonymous
To leave the old with a burst of song
To recall the rights and forgive the wrong;
To forgive the thing that binds you fast
To the vain regrets of the year that’s past;
To have the strength to let go your hold
Of the non-worthwhile of the days grown old;
To dare to go forth with a purpose true;
To the unknown task of the year that’s new
To help your brother along the road
To do his work and lift his load;
To add your gift to the world’s good cheer,
Is to have and to give a Happy New Year.
New Year’s Poems about Resolution
New Year’s resolutions are a popular tradition, and these New Year resolution poems are here to help you stay on track. Find inspiration to achieve your goals with these uplifting works.
1. New Year’s Resolution
by Evan Mantyk
The New Year brings with it a gleaming hope
That lights the way into a better place;
But first, with faith you have to grasp the rope
And climb up days’ and months’ increasing slope
While sticking to a steady long-term pace—
The New Year brings with it a gleaming hope.
Be clear and focused like a telescope
That sees what’s true within a grander space;
But first, with faith you have to grasp the rope.
In times like these it can be hard to cope
With little daily challenges we face.
The New Year brings with it a gleaming hope.
Imagine Martin Luther were made pope,
And wretched debts were now transformed by grace;
But first, with faith you have to grasp the rope
The Creator has scrubbed clean with rose-tinged soap
And made for hands to perfectly embrace.
The New Year brings with it a gleaming hope,
But first, with faith you have to grasp the rope.
2. My New Year Resolution
by Tahera Mannan
The New Year is round the corner again
I have started to wrack my brain
A resolution to keep
For which I would not weep
And would be proud and bring out champagne
I decided to quit chocolate
And so will take the help of my mate
Not to gorge myself on any treat
Maybe couple of times cheat
For to keep a resolution I do hate
3. New Year’s Resolutions
by Aditya Chattopadyay
Here comes the New Year,
And it’s time to make resolutions.
For I promise to be sincere
And bring in me a revolution.
In class, I’ll talk less.
In studies, I’ll surely progress.
All my lies I’ll confess.
I’ll go to play with egress.
To my friends, I’ll be kind,
Have my character refined,
To a helper of mankind
With a sound mind.
I’ll follow my teacher’s advice.
Regularly I’ll exercise.
My mother I’ll idolize.
Beyond doubt I’ll civilize.
These are my resolutions
To bring in me an evolution.
To follow them, I’ll try my best.
Until then, I’ll not rest.
4. New Year Resolutions
by Mrs Khan
Just think think think
Of things you can do
To make yourself better
Before the years through
Resolutions can be tough,
Or simple as can be,
Making resolutions,
Are great for you and me!
So what will you promise,
To help yourself my dear,
Through (insert year)
Have a happy new year!
5. What Resolution
by Catherine Pulsifer
What New Year resolution shall I make?
Should it be to cook and bake?
Maybe more money I will see
Or maybe happy I will be.
What changes in my life do I need?
Are there things I should heed?
Reflection of the past year tells me
Improvement in myself is always the key.
6. New Year’s Resolution
by David Whippman
And what have you resolved for the new year?
I guarantee your vows will be in vain.
Oh, I don’t doubt that right now you’re sincere.
But soon, your good intentions disappear.
Just as it’s happened time and time again.
So what have you resolved for the new year?
Right now, your willpower’s shining bright and clear.
But soon it will be flowing down the drain
though I don’t doubt that right now you’re sincere.
But it will be so hard to persevere.
You will be tempted till you’re half insane.
Now what have you resolved for the new year?
For all too soon, temptation will be here.
Poor fool! Your will could never stand the strain
though I don’t doubt that right now you’re sincere.
A brand-new start? Forgive me if I sneer.
Your high ideas? Already on the wane.
But what have you resolved for the new year?
Oh, I don’t doubt that right now you’re sincere.
7. Sounds Good
by Catherine Pulsifer
Resolutions sound so good
A word or a thing to do is shrewd
But just to say it does nothing
Voicing it is not a thing.
If I want my resolution to come true
I must develop a plan through
Setting goals and action plans
Throughout the year it will span.
Otherwise in a month or two
The resolution I will not do.
You need to write it down
And stick to it with no frowns.
Focus on your end goal
How you will feel in your soul
When your goal is complete
The resolution you will keep.
Happy New Year’s Poems
Celebrate the New Year with happiness and cheer with these joyful and optimistic New Year’s poems. Let their words fill you with hope and positivity for the year ahead.
1. A Journey to a New Year
by Sumira R. Arain
First day of the New Year.
It’s time to shine for a new day.
Forget your past,
Your sorrow, your pain.
New ideas are waiting ahead.
It’s time to recall all your memories,
Beautiful dreams that remain uncovered,
Painful parts of life when your heart gets crushed.
But don’t be afraid.
The future is in your hand.
Hold it in your hand.
Start your race,
A new journey,
That leads you to success.
You will rise again
You will shine again.
Happy New Year!
2. A Happy New Year
by Anonymous
“A happy new year” it will be—if it’s new:
New visions of all that is noble and true,
New powers for service, new knowledge of God,
New zeal for the ways that the heroes have trod,
New comforts, new courage, new graces, new joys,
New peace where the evil assails or annoys,
New friendship, new helpers, new faith and new love,
New treasures on earth and new treasures above,
New wisdom, new glory, new health, and new cheer,
Nothing old, all things new, in the happy new year!
3. Happy New Year
by Hope Galaxie
As the world celebrates
With fireworks and cakes
I’m standing here alone
Far away from home
With nothing but a suitcase and memories
As the stars surround me like water
I raise my hands in full surrender
To God, my Redeemer
Lord, this year is far from ordinary
I’ve never seen such extraordinary
People, places, and things
Amazing human beings
Searching for purpose, just like me.
Looking around, I wonder
Since a year is like clashing thunder
Booming suddenly
Then vanishing instantly,
Why waste time uselessly?
The old year came and went
I hope your time was wisely spent
On helping others and working hard
So that many people may regard
Your lifetime as truly great
And not just because of fate
So learn this lesson, but not from me!
Try it yourself and you will see
Making a difference starts with one step
With one foot, then the next
So walk right now into the light
And find yourself shining bright
Don’t worry what people think
Because right now you’re on the brink
Of showing others what is true
Happy New Year, from me to you.
4. Happy New Year!
by Angela Jelf
Ring out the old, and ring in the new,
Another year passes, but one thing is true,
A thousand small blessings have slipped through my hands,
Moments uncountable, vast as the sands.
Ordinary days that have come,
And then gone,
A sunrise, a sunset,
A whisper,
A song.
Times spent with family,
Long summer days,
Here for a moment,
Then gone in a haze.
I wish I could hold all these moments forever,
Time marches onward,
But love ceases never.
So I’m thankful, so thankful,
For all that has been,
For the highs and the lows,
And the bits in between,
This journey of life
With its ups and its downs,
The trials and the triumphs,
The joys and the frowns,
This life I’ve been given,
I long to embrace,
To cherish each moment,
Each dear, precious face,
Yet to live in surrender,
Not grasping too tight,
To live for eternity
To walk in the light,
Knowing this life is a gift from above,
That it all comes from you,
Oh great Father of love.
5. A Happy New-Year Party
by Mary Helm
I awoke this morning
When the sun was shining bright
And looked out of my window
On a world all dressed white.
Every hill was frosted
Like a “happy birthday” cake,
The icing growing thicker
With each fluffy sifted flake.
The fence posts stood like candles
In each swirly, frosted holder;
A birthday party, I exclaimed,
The world is one year older.
I dressed myself and hurried
To the whitest, softest drift,
And made a jolly snowman
For the New Year’s birthday gift!
6. Happy New Year!
by Unique
December is fading away.
There’s a new year coming your way.
All frustrations drowned
with the chill of cold air around
as the new year rises array.
Everybody say hip, hip hurray!
Do you remember the things that made you laugh,
cry like a calf?
Never forget the luck you had the whole year;
If you didn’t have any, don’t moan saying, “Oh dear!”
’cause there’s more to come in the New Year!
There comes Santa with yummy goodies
for the sweet charming little buddies.
Goodbye is what is said to this year,
expecting more to happen in the next year.
Have fun everyone, and
Happy New Year!!
7. Let’s Prepare for Another One
by Pankaj K. Negi
Completed another revolution around the sun.
Let’s prepare for another one…
Ups and down, lows and high, yet more to come.
Let’s prepare for another one…
Learn from the past, get ready for tasks undone.
Let’s prepare for another one…
Spread happiness, kindness, and love to everyone.
Let’s prepare for another one…
Live every moment, enjoy, and have lots of fun.
Let’s prepare for another one…
Happy New Year!
New Year’s Poems about Love
Love is a powerful force, and these New Year love poems capture its essence perfectly. Whether celebrating with a partner or reflecting on love in general, these poems will tug at your heartstrings.
1. My One True Dear
by Catherine Pulsifer
On this New Year’s Eve,
There is nowhere I would rather be,
In your arms, I feel so loved,
The look in your eyes, love I see.
You I do admire, that is why
I gave you my heart.
Honesty, kindness, and generosity
Sets you apart.
Each day I feel your love,
Your friendship, your laughter,
You truly are
My happy-ever-after.
I made a wish one night
Looking at a star,
To find the perfect person for me
Because that is what you are.
2. New Year
by Carol Ann Duffy
I drop the dying year behind me like a shawl
and let it fall. The urgent fireworks fling themselves
against the night, flowers of desire, love’s fervency.
Out of the space around me, standing here, I shape
your absent body against mine. You touch me as the giving air.
Most far, most near, your arms are darkness, holding me,
so I lean back, lip-read the heavens talking on in light,
syllabic stars. I see, at last, they pray at us. Your breath
is midnight’s, living, on my skin, across the miles between us,
fields and motorways and towns, the million lit-up little homes.
This love we have, grief in reverse, full rhyme, wrong place,
wrong time, sweet work for hands, the heart’s vocation, flares
to guide the new year in, the days and nights far out upon the sky’s
dark sea. Your mouth is snow now on my lips, cool, intimate, first kiss,
a vow. Time falls and falls through endless space, to when we are.
3. New Year Approaches
by Catherine Pulsifer
As the new year approaches, I want to say,
With you, my dreams have come true.
Together, we share a love so strong,
I am so in love with you.
May this coming year be great
May your dreams come true
May happiness and sunshine
Be yours all the year through.
4. My One True Dear
by Catherine Pulsifer
Happy New Year darling,
My love for you grows with each passing year.
You will always be my sweetheart,
My one true dear.
5. Every Day
by Catherine Pulsifer
Every day, not just new year’s day,
I see an incredible person in you.
Every day, not just new year’s day,
You are the most important person in my life.
Every day, not just new year’s day,
I feel blessed to wake up beside you.
Every day, not just new year’s day,
You bring happiness to my life.
.
Every day, not just new year’s day
I love you more and more in every way.
6. Love You Every Year
by Catherine Pulsifer
I loved you last year
I will love you next year
I will love you every year
That is so true, my dear!
7. Happy New Year Sweetheart
by Catherine Pulsifer
Happy New Year my sweetheart.
Together another year we start.
Another year for me to love you
And be thankful for all that you do.
I love the smile on your face.
Love the feel of your embrace.
Love the ways you show you care
Love every joy that we share.
You are so sweet
You make life so complete
Happiness, as only you do
Love You because you’re you!
8. A Year Untried
by E. M. Offord
A year untried before me lies;
What shall it bring of strange surprise?
Or joy, or grief, I can not tell;
But God, my Father, knoweth well.
I make it no concern of mine,
But leave it all with Love Divine.
Be sickness mine, or rugged health;
Come penury to me, or wealth;
Though lonesome I must pass along,
Or loving friends my way may throng,
Upon my Father’s Word I rest;
Whatever shall be shall be best.
No ill can come but he can cure;
His Word doth all of good insure;
He’ll see me through the journey’s length,
For daily need give daily strength.
‘Tis thus I fortify my heart,
And thus do fear and dread depart.
The sun may shed no light by day,
Nor stars at night illume my way;
My soul shall still know no affright,
Since God is all my life and light.
Though all the earthly lamps grow dim.
He walks in light who walks with him.
O year untried! — thou hast for me
Naught but my Father’s eye can see:
Nor canst thou bring me loss or gain,
Or health or sickness, ease or pain,
But welcome messenger shall prove
From Him whose name to me is Love.
New Year’s Poems for Friends
Friends are an important part of life. These New Year’s poems are perfect for sharing with your closest companions and celebrating your bond.
1. A Brighter, Better New Year
by Joanna Fuchs
Happy, Happy New Year!
We wish you all the best,
Great work to reach your fondest goals,
And when you’re done, sweet rest.
We hope for your fulfillment,
Contentment, peace and more,
A brighter, better New Year than
You’ve ever had before.
2. A Song for New Year’s Eve
by William Cullen Bryant
Stay yet, my friends, a moment stay—
Stay till the good old year,
So long companion of our way,
Shakes hands, and leaves us here.
Oh stay, oh stay,
One little hour, and then away.
The year, whose hopes were high and strong,
Has now no hopes to wake;
Yet one hour more of jest and song
For his familiar sake.
Oh stay, oh stay,
One mirthful hour, and then away.
The kindly year, his liberal hands
Have lavished all his store.
And shall we turn from where he stands,
Because he gives no more?
Oh stay, oh stay,
One grateful hour, and then away.
Days brightly came and calmly went,
While yet he was our guest;
How cheerfully the week was spent!
How sweet the seventh day’s rest!
Oh stay, oh stay,
One golden hour, and then away.
Dear friends were with us, some who sleep
Beneath the coffin-lid:
What pleasant memories we keep
Of all they said and did!
Oh stay, oh stay,
One tender hour, and then away.
Even while we sing, he smiles his last,
And leaves our sphere behind.
The good old year is with the past;
Oh be the new as kind!
Oh stay, oh stay,
One parting strain, and then away.
3. “Smashing” in the New Year
by Jacob Riis
The Old Year went out with much such a racket as we make nowadays,
but of quite a different kind.
We did not blow the New Year in,
we “smashed” it in.
When it was dark on New Year’s Eve,
we stole out with all the cracked and damaged crockery of the year
that had been hoarded for the purpose and,
hieing ourselves to some favorite neighbor’s door,
broke pots against it.
Then we ran, but not very far or very fast,
for it was part of the game that if one was caught at it,
he was to be taken in and treated to hot doughnuts.
The smashing was a mark of favor,
and the citizen who had most pots broken against his door,
was the most popular man in town.
4. On to a New Year
by Julie Hebert
This is the year that things will change,
And last year will be just that.
We have learned from our mistakes and now look forward,
It’s our year to be up to bat.
Money won’t be an issue as we will make more,
And all of our bills will get paid.
We will reframe from overspending and get a vacation,
And last year will start to fade.
Although those memories will start to fade,
We will never truly forget that year.
It was one of the hardest years we’ve had,
But this year will bring us great cheer.
So to the year that will bring us cheer,
We welcome this wonderful change.
And we hope and we pray for a year full of fun,
It will be up to us to arrange.
5. New Year Blessing
by Anonymous
At the sound of the tolling midnight bell
a brand new year will begin.
Let’s raise our hopes in a confident toast,
to the promise it ushers in.
May your battles be few, your pleasures many,
your wishes and dreams fulfilled.
May your confidence stand in the face of loss
and give you the strength to rebuild.
May peace of heart fill all your days
may serenity grace your soul.
May tranquil moments bless your life
and keep your spirit whole.
6. Good-bye, Old Year
by Lila R. Munro Tainter
Good-bye, Old Year, the hours are swiftly flying;
The night has come at last and thou art dying.
Doth no repentance, no remorse assail thee,
As far and wide the wintry winds bewail thee?
Good-bye, good-bye.
Good-bye, Old Year; thou hast been most unkindly
To one who welcomed thee so fondly, blindly;
Who gave thee largess as a royal guest;
Whose trust thou didst betray with wild unrest.
Good-bye, good-bye.
Good-bye, Old Year who came in clouds of glory;
Thy breath upon my locks has left them hoary;
Thy lips were chill and filled me with alarms;
My roses faded in thy clasping arms.
Good-bye, good-bye.
Good-bye, Old Year; thy cruel hand, relentless,
Robbed memory of joy and made it Icentiess;
The wine of love poured from a shattered glass,
In blood-red drops upon a mound of grass.
Good-bye, good-bye.
Good-bye, Old Year. And now, since thou must leave me,
Wouldst sue for pardon wherein thou didst grieve me?
Restore sweet trust, make whole the broken heart,
And from remembrance pluck the poisoned dart; –
No answer – ruthless Year;
Good-bye, good-bye.
7. New Year
by Diane Bohn
Christmas may be over,
the stockings put away.
The chocolate and the cookies
enjoyed every single day.
Now the New Year’s coming,
all hurry on their way,
to live their busy lives,
no more thoughts of Santa’s sleigh.
Although the season’s come and go,
and Holidays have their cheer,
The Spirit of Christ can stay in out hearts,
to warm and bless all near.
I hope you had a merry Christmas,
full of the Christmas Spirit,
but more than that I hope your year
has much happiness and love in it!
Final Thoughts
New Year’s is a time of reflection, celebration, and new beginnings.
Whether you’re looking for something funny, famous, inspirational, short, long, rhyming, or just downright happy, there are poems for the New Year of all sorts.
These New Year’s poems remind us to look back at the past with gratitude, cherish the present moment, and face the future with hope and optimism.
So, as we welcome the New Year and all the possibilities it holds, let us take a moment to appreciate the power of poetry to inspire, uplift, and unite us in our shared human experience.
