dear friends, we gather today here
to mark the start of a new year
another circle lies ahead
another path for us to tread
we look together without fear
as new horizons spread

as Father Time strides ever on
ever going, never gone
a gift he leaves us in his wake
a circle we can use and shape
a cycle which at every run
gives us space for a break

For if Time were a long straight line
with not a break at any time
how dreary then our lives would be
with no chance to step back and see
the friends, the food, the drink, the wine
the things that make our spirits free.

The New Year is a time to stop
remember things that we'd forgot,
and bring the good things with us here
leaving the bad in the past year
and look at chances that we've got
opportunities fresh and clear.

In mid-year oft our busy days
keep us far from friends' pathways
we rarely have the chance to meet
with our busy hands and busy feet
So we make a new start of today
the old year now complete.

And as we make this New Years' start
with the warmth of the season in our hearts
its those around us we hold true
who we gather with to start anew
for each one plays a unique part
in our lives the whole year through.