Best New Year Poems
To do justly in a world of injustice,
to love mercy though wanting revenge,
to walk humbly through forests of arrogance,
to speak softly and not to avenge.
To give kindly to any with physical needs,
to comfort the lonely in spirit,
to hold trembling hands of those grieving a loss
and hear hope sing although they can't hear it.
To locate the beauty in chaos,
to craft the humane out of tragedy,
to respond to tornado by building a home,
or to fire by planting a tree.
To never lash out at the ignorant,
to not ignore homeless or hungry,
to not grow impatient with those who are young,
to not be angry at the angry.
For I was once hungry and grieving,
I was once lonely and ignorant,
I was once vengeful and too blind to see
that I too was young and still arrogant.
But somebody wise came beside me,
saying, "Life isn't fair... but you can be -
live simply and give from abundance,
do the good that you're wanting to see.
Follow the Golden Rule always,
work hard - don't expect to be served,
be humble, treat others with kindness,
give honor wherever deserved."
These were the words of my parents,
who through War and Depression grew strong,
so whenever I make resolutions
their wisdom helps sort right from wrong.
written 15 Dec 2022
We first met at the Obsidian Bar,
on a night that I will never forget.
She’s dressed to the nines; like a movie star
in charcoal satin and sable georgette.
I catch the scent of ashes of roses,
as wisps of smoke drift from bright crimson lips.
Like a Vogue model, she sits and poses,
a tall glass of absinthe she gently sips.
With cerulean eyes, which shine so bright,
ivory skin like a porcelain doll.
She caught my eye; it is love at first sight
her captivating beauty does enthral.
She’s on her own, so I ask her to dance,
New Year bells ring, heralding our romance
Won in Midnight Romance Contest
Sponsored by Dale Gregory Cozart
10 syllables per line checked with how many syllables
words to be used: obsidian, charcoal, sable, absinthe, cerulean, ashes of roses, porcelain, ivory, smoke, crimson
10-14-17
Nature's wake from sleep
Life flirts with beauty
a time for flowers to flaunt
As the old year grows cold and grey,
I stand on an ocean of time,
holding my dreams like bright balloons.
Based on visual #1
Written 12/31/14 by Andrea Dietrich
For the 3 by 8 Image Contest of nette onclaud
“Every year is a chess game. New Year is a new chess game! You make the right moves, you win the game!”
Mehmet Murat ildan
Questions of resolutions for new years day.
It's a comedic quest that's all I can I say.
No more gym promises, let 'love handles' slide,
I'll do squats with laughter - it's smiles certified!
I'll attempt to embrace my inner chef cuisine,
but I'll probably get too lazy to cut green beans!
Microwaves, dear Constance, shall take the lead,
cooking gourmet food in minutes, that's all I need!
I don't care for mumbo jumbo mindfulness.
I'll try to be calm and stay away from stress.
I'm quite content with my life being a mess.
through poetry I will continue to express.
Maybe I'll spend less time online or on my phone,
but then my 'Boo' will be grumpy and start to moan;
asking "Why no poetry or posting on soup,
have I joined another community group?"
Soupers must be tired from my melancholic words,
so I'll try to make them laugh like royal lords.
I'll post limericks humorous and brash,
maybe I'll get published and make lots of cash!
I'm poor and no money brings so much woe,
but I pledge to spend on a cheap comedy show.
Laughter, they say is the best form of currency,
it's free and will save you from needing therapy.
Fitness goals? Come on let's keep it real,
my resolution's laughter, a daily ordeal.
Belly laughs and chuckles, my abs will be toned,
who needs a treadmill when jokes are treasures, owned.
Oh Constance La France my dear poetic friend,
on new year resolutions one cannot depend.
We all know they end up in disaster,
so I'm gonna stick to the strength of laughter!
For in the land of goals, funny and bright,
may your New Year beliefs bring you delight!
Another year has come - chillingly -
and more chillingly for me than in decades heretofore.
I watch it ranting from my window as I recall. . . .
The year already past had tugged me from those tame and toasty days
when I lay face up to sun
dreaming that my summer would never end.
It brought me to this winter when it withered up and died,
but half a century and more of memories
had fallen for me by now.
Like pretty crystal flakes they fell, drifting through my mind -
places, events and people.
Oh, those people I looked up to in my youth -
fallen as the snow!
How many pretty snow flakes have melted now away?
Only my memories of them remain. . .
memories now piled up like snowdrifts in my brain.
Yes, the newborn year has arrived.
Just one month old and already, it has lost its crawl.
This infant’s aging process parallels, on the larger scale,
that fleeting span of time known as life -
a time that all the living undergo.
The new year carries on (as must we all) to soon complete its cycle.
Let it bluster. Let it wail. Let it rattle at my door,
for soon enough, all signs of it will cease.
Written 2/12/11
Now used for 'A STRAND (1061)' Poetry Contest
"Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us." - Hal Borland
Each year goes round, and so I must surmise
that even though four seasons make a year,
we cannot really say when one year dies
or when the brand new year has had its dawn!
At any spot upon this earthly sphere,
we, all of us, are going on and on.
There is no start, so there can be no end.
We try to gather wisdom from the old
to learn from it and then resolve to mend
our future ways, then pass it to our youth.
But wisdom must be valued more than gold
if love and peace on earth would be our truth.
Each year goes round, and so I must surmise
there is no start, so there can be no end!
(A Cornish Sonnet)
I welcomed you twenty twenty, a brand spanking new year
But all you brought with you was death, misery and fear
So I'll be glad to see the back of you and cant wait 'till you're gone
And I hope for better times in the year twenty twenty one.
You've left behind some' bad stuff' like covid nineteen
But hopefully it'll be defeated when they roll out the vaccine
Wearing masks and not seeing family, well that's been quite hard
But while you still lurk about, I won't drop my guard.
World leaders were floundering, not quick enough to act
Putting their economies before people and that is a fact
If only they'd looked at history, like the great Spanish flu
They'd have been a lot wiser and would've known what to do.
The news reported acts of kindness in every country
Like front line health workers who risked their lives for humanity
Sadly many of those brave heroes died needlessly
Because governments were too slow to provide proper P. P. E.
Viruses are nothing new and they'll come back again
We must stop destroying mother earth for financial gain
Upsetting natures balance causes these viruses to thrive
Mankind really needs to take notice if he wants to survive.
Cramming animals into cages is a pitiful sight
But mother nature is watching and is preparing to fight
Razing forests and dumping rubbish and polluting the sea
Is a recipe for disaster that'll bring untold misery.
So good riddance or go do one, many people will say
I'd remove all records of you if I had my way
People will always remember you for bringing misery and tears
And there will be much joy and relief as twenty twenty one nears.
When the clock strikes midnight, so happy I'll be
As twenty twenty sinks into the dark annals of history
But stay awake mankind and listen to the experts that know
I don't want to be the one saying "well I told you so".
Written 27th December 2020
2020 to 2021 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Mohan Chutani
Open like a door before me
Be it sun or rain or stormy
Each new year gapes like yawning chasms, dark
And for all my silly scheming
All my notions and my dreaming
Passion's flames won't ever light without a spark
(Oh New Year please burn bright for me)
I can not see your face from here
But how I long to draw you near
And hold you to my bosom like a child
Oh New Year, won't you sing for me
And drown the sad cacophony
Of all the years behind me, lost and wild
(Oh New Year please burn bright for me)
You see, I'd been to hell and back
A hundred times when I lost track
Of all the hopes that blossomed in my youth
With poisons making life surreal
I'd lost the will to thrive or feel
Until the kiss of death revealed my truth
(Oh New Year please burn bright for me)
This year I dream of someone new
The mirrored face that longs to do
The things that he has loosened to the wind
To let go of the fears that bind
That paralyze his heart and mind
And never feel embarrassed or chagrined
(Oh New Year please burn bright for me)
I want to grasp life with both hands
To twirl my spirit on the sands
Of time, and never look back to redeem
But make the most of moments, each
Let laughter, love and friendship teach
My soul the things I never dared to dream
(Oh New Year please burn bright for me)
Burn bright with the hopes of my music and pen
Burn bright with the fire that can love me again
Burn bright with the dreams that churn deep in my heart
Burn bright with the flames of a joyous new start
(Oh New Year please burn bright for me)
And I will burn bright ... for YOU.
~ 1st Place ~ in the "Soon It Will Be 2019" Poetry Contest, Cecelia Hopkins-Drewer, Judge & Sponsor.
Now the year is
Ending
With a toast to
You and yours may
Every dream come true
As you
Roar into the bright New Year~2024
Melting away is the year 2024.
We powered through or failed, but the hour is no more.
For the New Year celebrants, tonight gives no clue,
But I wish a year of happiness to everyone of you.
Happy New Year.
I open my door to a brand new year,
and take a first step with jubilant glee;
a new beginning- want to jump and cheer!
Of all past luggage I plan to be free,
as blissful as a song bird in a tree;
as buzzing joyfully as a spring bee.
Snowflakes are falling to caress and kiss,
on a park pond ducks still drift, oh delight;
I am joyful for a scene such as this!
When I let nature inside it feels right,
whether it be summer or frozen white;.
even if spring or fall- or day, or night.
With my new year energy I am thrilled,
I plan to smile, to laugh, and with joy sing;
gloating - resolutions will be fulfilled!
I am in rapture over the whole thing,
to this fun awesome journey I will cling;
even, when sad sorrow threatens my wing.
I will rise above all weeping sadness,
and will be full of jubilant madness.
__________________________________
January 4, 2019
Poetry/Urban Sonnet/New Year - New Beginning
Copyright Protected, ID 19-1101-018-02
All Rights Reserved. Written under Pseudonym.
Written for the contest, Jubilant Joy
sponsor, Chantelle Anne Cooke
First Place
Twenty-twenty on his deathbed lies.
Most saw him with disapproving eyes.
Some prospered as they watched him grow.
But many looked at him
as a son of woe. Though
no wars did he bring -
his praises we
shall surely
never
sing.
In
our minds
has grown an
embryo – our
hopes now pinned on him.
This unborn child – will his
youth be sweet or grim? Will we
be proud to watch him grow? One can
never know! Oh, Twenty-twenty-one,
in your brother’s footsteps please don't follow.
Dec. 30, 2021
Voices choral, chimes of clay ring out
oh so merrily to a wintry sky
And earthen sounds once silent, still, now shout
in harmony and majesty, they cry.
A brightness sheers the air as metal sounds,
long cylinders of brass clink in the breeze
like childish laughter each fresh note abounds
a thankful note the past year to appease.
In churches, mosques and temples they sing
as clappers sound the tone around their rims
forged of metal, or blown in glass, they ring
resounding as the hours of this year dim.
Rejoice, rejoice a New Year has begun
Goodbye they toll and sing here comes the sun.
I’ve been watching my weight since 14,
but with all of the diets I’ve seen,
they’ve become a big no-no.
This here dieting yo-yo
has stopped trying to be super lean!
Other problems I’ll change as I go.
I don’t need a New Year to say so!
Said a wise sailor man:
I yam what I yam!
Why improve on a good thing - ya know?
So the cause of the most bellyaching
at this time of the year I’m forsaking.
When you know yourself well. . .
why then go through such hell!
Resolutions I’ll never be making.
For the the New Year's Resolution Poetry Contest of Regina Riddle