New Friends and Old Friends

Find poems about new friends and old friends. Which are more important, the new ones or the old ones?

Read these Friendship Poems, and they may help you decide which are more important. Share these words with your friends, old and new!

in forming new friendships forget not old friends

Updated August 27, 2026, by Catherine Pulsifer.

New Friends and Old Friends

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.

Old Friends

Poet: 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.

For more thoughtful words about friends who make life special, read these meaningful friendship quotes.

You Are My Friend

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.

Grow Old Friends

Poet: 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?

We Are Blessed

Poet: Catherine Pulsifer

New friends like stars, sparkling and bright,
Old friends like sunsets, painting the night.
Together they bring to our life happiness
In friendships new and old, we are blessed.

Old friends are the great blessing of one's later years.

Friendship is one of life's special gifts, and these verses about friendship share more thoughts about the value of caring and faithful friends.

Friendship Blessings

Poet: 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.

Old Friends

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.

Old Friends

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!

Sometimes a few thoughtful words can express how much a friendship means, as you will find in these quotes for a friend.

Thanksgiving For My Friends

Poet: 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.

An Old Friend Thought

Poet: 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.

Friendship also gives us many reasons to smile, especially on a special day, so enjoy these Funny Birthday Poems for Friends.

Old Friends, Old Books

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!

Key Reflections From These Poems

Old friends hold a special place in our lives because they have shared our memories, seen our struggles, and stayed with us through changing seasons. These poems remind us that friendships strengthened by time are worth appreciating and caring for.

New friends are also a gift. Every lasting friendship was once new, and welcoming new people into our lives can bring encouragement, happiness, and experiences we may never have expected.

Perhaps the greatest message in these poems is that we do not have to choose between new friends and old friends. We can treasure those who have walked beside us for years while still making room in our hearts for new friendships to grow.

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Conclusion

New friends bring new experiences into our lives, while old friends carry memories that can never be replaced. Both have something special to offer. May these poems remind us to appreciate the friends we have, welcome the friendships still to come, and never take for granted those who have walked beside us through the years.

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