Poet: Joseph Parry
Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
New-made friendships, like new wine,
Age will mellow and refine.
Friendships that have stood the test -
Time and change - are surely best;
Brow may wrinkle, hair grow gray,
Friendship never knows decay.
For 'mid old friends, tried and true,
Once more we our youth renew.
But old friends, alas! may die,
New friends must their place supply.
Cherish friendship in your breast -
New is good, but old is best;
Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
Thoughts on this Poem:
Joseph Parry was born in 1841 and died in 1903. His words in this poem regarding friendships still hold true today. Throughout our life, we are constantly meeting new people. Some remain acquaintances, some become friends. But, with our old friends we sometimes lose touch with them, due to a move, change of job, marriage, children, the list goes on and on.
Mr. Parry's point on silver and gold as they refer to friendships is well written. Our old friends are like gold. And our new friends are silver. We must remember to treat our old friends like gold.
by Austin Dobson
Old books, old wine, old nankin blue,
All things, in short, to which belong
The charm, the grace that Time makes strong -
All these I prize, but (entre nous)
Old friends are best.
more meaningful friendship quotes
Poet: Nixon Waterman
You are my friend, for you have smiled with me,
My help and hope in fair and stormy weather;
I like you for the joys you've whiled with me,
I love you for the griefs we've wept together.
I've held your hand when life was gold to me.
And shared with you its every gracious greeting;
You've brought good cheer when earth was cold to me,
And made me feel your warm heart fondly beating.
Though all the world were deaf and dark to me.
And long the night, and bleak the winds and biting,
I know full well that you would hark to me.
And set my path with lamps of Love's glad lighting.
You are my friend, for you have smiled with me,
My help and hope in fair and stormy weather;
I like you for the joys you've whiled with me,
I love you for the griefs we've wept together.
Nixon Waterman writes about the feelings he has for old friends, the smiles and the storms, the joy and grief that has been shared. All the ups and downs that make old friends special can be reflected in these verses about friendship.
by Horace Walpole
Old friends are the great blessing
Of one's later years.
Half a word conveys one's meaning.
They have a memory of the same events,
And have the same mode of thinking.
I have young relations that may grow upon me,
For my nature is affectionate,
But can they grow old friends?
Friends are Blessings
Poet: Catherine Pulsifer
New friends like stars, sparkling and bright,
Old friends like sunsets, painting the night.
Together they to our life happiness
In friendships new and old, we are blessed.
by Mary Russell Mitford
I have felt this blessing of being able to
Respond to new friendships very strongly lately,
For I have lost many old and valued connections
During this trying spring.
I thank God far more earnestly for such blessings
Than for my daily bread,
For friendship is the bread of the heart.
quotes for a friend
Poet: Edgar A. Guest
I do not say new friends are not considerate and true,
Or that their smiles ain't genuine, but still I'm tellin' you
That when a feller's heart is crushed and achin' with the pain,
And teardrops come a-splashin' down his cheeks like summer rain,
Becoz his grief an' loneliness are more than he can bear,
Somehow it's only old friends, then, that really seem to care.
The friends who've stuck through thick an' thin, who've known you, good an' bad,
Your faults an' virtues, an' have seen the struggles you have had,
When they come to you gentle-like an' take your hand an' say:
Cheer up! we're with you still,' it counts, for that's the old friends' way.
The new friends may be fond of you for what you are today;
They've only known you rich, perhaps, an' only seen you gay;
You can't tell what's attracted them; your station may appeal;
Perhaps they smile on you because you're doin' something real;
But old friends who have seen you fail, an' also seen you win,
Who've loved you either up or down, stuck to you, thick or thin,
Who knew you as a budding youth, an' watched you start to climb,
Through weal an' woe, still friends of yours an' constant all the time,
When trouble comes an' things go wrong, I don't care what you say,
They are the friends you'll turn to, for you want the old friends' way.
The new friends may be richer, an' more stylish, too, but when
Your heart is achin' an' you think your sun won't shine again,
It's not the riches of new friends you want, it's not their style,
It's not the airs of grandeur then, it's just the old friend's smile,
The old hand that has helped before, stretched out once more to you,
The old words ringin' in your ears, so sweet an', Oh, so true!
The tenderness of folks who know just what your sorrow means,
These are the things on which, somehow, your spirit always leans.
When grief is poundin' at your breast — the new friends disappear
An' to the old ones tried an' true, you turn for aid an' cheer.
Best Friend Poems
Poet: John Imrie
The friendship of the good and true
Is more to me than gold,
And while I welcome one that's new
I'll treasure well the old;
Old friends are like the goodly tree
Whose leafy branches throw
A grateful shelter over me
When adverse winds may blow!
by Emerson
I awoke this morning with
Devout thanksgiving for my friends,
The old and the new.
Shall I not call God, the Beautiful,
Who daily showeth himself
So to me in his gifts?
I chide society, I embrace solitude, and yet
I am not so ungrateful as not to see the wise, the lovely,
And the noble-minded, as from time to time they pass my gate.
Who hears me, who understands me,
Becomes mine a possession for all time.
Thanksgiving Friendship Poem
by Henry W. Longfellow
We may build more splendid habitations,
Fill our rooms with paintings and with sculptures,
But we cannot
Buy with gold the old associations.
Funny Birthday Poems for Friends
Poet: Charles R. Williams
Old friends, old books are surely best,
Already long they've stood each test, -
In times of stress or indolence
Have ministered to soul and sense.
With grace responsive to each quest.
Aye, every whim by us possest,
When winds blow east or winds blow west,
They kindly humor - not incense -
Old friends, old books!
The new may touch with keener zest
When we with ennui are opprest,
But only briefly; turning thence.
With reawakened confidence.
We seek - for peace, for joy, for rest -
Old friends, old books!
