New Year’s Day

New Year’s Day

by Kim Addonizio

The rain this morning falls
on the last of the snow

and will wash it away. I can smell
the grass again, and the torn leaves

being eased down into the mud.
The few loves I’ve been allowed

to keep are still sleeping
on the West Coast. Here in Virginia

I walk across the fields with only
a few young cows for company.

Big-boned and shy,
they are like girls I remember

from junior high, who never
spoke, who kept their heads

lowered and their arms crossed against
their new breasts. Those girls

are nearly forty now. Like me,
they must sometimes stand

at a window late at night, looking out
on a silent backyard, at one

rusting lawn chair and the sheer walls
of other people’s houses.

They must lie down some afternoons
and cry hard for whoever used

to make them happiest,
and wonder how their lives
have carried them
this far without ever once

explaining anything. I don’t know
why I’m walking out here

with my coat darkening
and my boots sinking in, coming up

with a mild sucking sound
I like to hear. I don’t care

where those girls are now.
Whatever they’ve made of it

they can have. Today I want
to resolve nothing.

I only want to walk
a little longer in the cold

blessing of the rain,
and lift my face to it.

Summary of New Year’s Day

• Popularity of “New Year’s Day”: Kim Addonizio, a great American poet and novelist, wrote New Year’s Day. It is one of the well-known poems on the theme of loneliness. It was first published in 2000 in her collection Tell Me. The poem speaks about the lonely speaker who walks alone in the fields and recollects the lives of girls of her age, equating them to cows. It also illustrates how her heavy heart finds comfort in the heart of nature.
• “New Year’s Day” As a Representative of Sorrow: The poem begins when the speaker witnesses the morning rain that melts the snow. She can smell the grass again, seeing how torn leaves become part of the mud. Since it is early morning, many people, including her loved ones, are still in the bed. Only the speaker is walking through the fields in the company of some cows. The big-boned and shy cows around her remind her young girls, who also behave in the same modest way. Being shy and reluctant, those girls used to cross their arms around their breasts and often lowered their heads like these cows.
  Now, those girls are in their forties, and the speaker assumes they too may love to spend time in the lap of nature. They may also cry hard for the people who used them in the name of happiness. The speaker says she does not know anything about those girls now, and she does not intend to resolve any conflict. Instead, she is walking in the rain to enjoy the bliss of nature as she glorifies nature with her recollections.
• Major Themes in “New Year’s Day”: Loneliness and man versus nature are the major themes underlined in this poem. Nature stands as the central theme of the poem as the poem begins and ends with the description of the natural beauty. Also, the speaker reflects upon how nature opens its arms for the depressed souls. The lonely speaker walks among the attractions of nature and recalls how girls of her age, who once were so timid, are now bold having bitter experiences of the world in their pocket. Unlike the speaker, they may also like to spend time in the silent backyard to recall their past. However, after discussing their lives, she continues her journey.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “New Year’s Day”

literary devices are tools that represent the writers’ ideas, feelings, and emotions. The writers use these devices to make their words appealing to the readers. Kim Addonizio has also used some literary devices in this poem to make it appealing. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem has been listed below.

1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /ee/ in “being eased down into the mud” and the sound of /a/ in “have carried them”.
2. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession. For example, the sound of /l/ in “a little longer in the cold” and the sound of /w/ in “and will wash it away. I can smell”.
3. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /g/ in “and my boots sinking in, coming up” and the sounds of /s/ and /r/ in “lowered and their arms crossed against”.
4. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,

“to make them happiest,
and wonder how their lives
have carried them
this far without ever once.”

5. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “lowered and their arms crossed against”, “and my boots sinking in, coming up” and “rusting lawn chair and the sheer walls.”
6. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings different from literal meanings. Nature symbolizes peace and harmony.
7. Simile: It is a figure of speech used to compare something with something else to make the meanings clear to the readers. There is only one simile used in the first part of the poem where the poet compares cows with girls. For example,

“Big-boned and shy,
they are like girls I remember.”

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “New Year’s Day”

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

1. Couplet: There are two constructive lines of verse in a couplet, usually in the same meter. There are seventeen couplets in this poem.
2. Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free-verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
3. Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows the ABAB rhyme scheme and this pattern continues until the end.

Quotes to be Used

The lines stated below are useful for describing the enchanting beauty of nature.

“The rain this morning falls
on the last of the snow
and will wash it away. I can smell
the grass again, and the torn leaves
being eased down into the mud.”