PoemsFarewell and retirement poems for colleagues
Poems for the last working day: a colleague moving on, a senior retiring after decades, a boss being transferred, or your own goodbye to a team. They are meant to be read aloud at the function or written in the farewell card.
English
The Empty Chair
Tomorrow there will be a chair That nobody will fill. The mug will go, the plant will stay, The laugh will echo still. You taught the new ones where things were And how to ask, and when. Go well. The door you leave by here Will know you, come again.
ShareYourGroupThirty-Five Years
You joined when files were tied with string And tea came in a glass. You saw the typewriters retire, The ledgers and the brass. You trained the ones who trained the ones Who sit here now and clap. The office is a river, sir. You helped to draw its map.
ShareYourGroupThe One Who Stayed Late
You never said, "It's not my job." You never passed the blame. When we were wrong you took the heat, When right, you used our name. We'll miss the door you left ajar, The way you heard us through. Wherever you are posted next, They're luckier than they knew.
ShareYourGroupMy Last Day
I came here knowing no one's name. I leave with all of yours. For every tea, for every help, For holding open doors: I have no speech, I have no gift As large as what I owe. I only have two words for you, And then I have to go. Thank you.
ShareYourGroupRetirement Morning
No alarm. The sun came in And found you still in bed. No bus to catch, no file to chase, No meeting in your head. The tea is slow, the paper long, The day belongs to you. For forty years you earned this hour. Enjoy it. It is due.
ShareYourGroupFor a Transferred Friend
New city, new desk, new canteen tea, New names upon the door. You'll learn them in a week or two, As you learnt ours before. But when the work is done some night And all the lights are low, Remember there's a lunch group here That misses you. Just so you know.
ShareYourGroup
हिन्दी
नई मंज़िल
कल से एक कुर्सी ख़ाली होगी, एक मेज़ चुप रह जाएगी। चाय के वक़्त आपकी हँसी हमें बहुत याद आएगी। नई जगह, नई मंज़िल है, नए लोग मिल जाएँगे। पर जो साथ यहाँ बिताया, हम कभी न भूल पाएँगे।
ShareYourGroupसेवानिवृत्ति
बरसों इस दफ़्तर को सींचा, अपने ख़ून पसीने से। कितनों को काम सिखाया, कितनों को जीना, सलीक़े से। अब सुबह आपकी अपनी है, घड़ी नहीं दौड़ाएगी। जो नींव आपने रखी यहाँ, इमारत गुण गाएगी।
ShareYourGroupविदाई की घड़ी
विदा की यह घड़ी है भारी, मन कुछ कहना चाहता है। शब्द नहीं मिलते हैं आज, बस आँखों में पानी आता है। जहाँ रहें, ख़ुश रहें आप, बस इतनी दुआ हमारी है। मिलते रहिए, याद रखिए, यह टीम सदा आभारी है।
ShareYourGroupसाहब के नाम
ग़लती पर डाँटा भी आपने, मौक़े पर सँभाला भी। काम करना सिखाया हमको, वक़्त पर निपटाना भी। आपके जाने से यह कमरा कुछ सूना हो जाएगा। जो सीखा है आपसे हमने, उम्र भर काम आएगा।
ShareYourGroupमेरा आख़िरी दिन
आया था तो किसी को न जाना, जाता हूँ सबको जानकर। हर चाय, हर मदद के लिए जाता हूँ एहसान मानकर। न भाषण है, न तोहफ़ा कोई, बस दो ही शब्द हैं पास। आप सबका शुक्रिया, दिल से, यही है मेरी बात ख़ास।
ShareYourGroup
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
ਸੇਵਾ ਮੁਕਤੀ
ਸਾਲਾਂ ਬੱਧੀ ਦਫ਼ਤਰ ਸਾਂਭਿਆ, ਮਿਹਨਤ ਨਾਲ, ਇਮਾਨ ਨਾਲ। ਕਿੰਨਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਕੰਮ ਸਿਖਾਇਆ ਆਪਣੇ ਮਿੱਠੇ ਸੁਭਾਅ ਨਾਲ। ਹੁਣ ਸਵੇਰ ਤੁਹਾਡੀ ਆਪਣੀ, ਨਾ ਬੱਸ, ਨਾ ਕੋਈ ਕਾਹਲ। ਰੱਬ ਕਰੇ ਅਗਲਾ ਪੈਂਡਾ ਲੰਘੇ ਸੁੱਖਾਂ ਨਾਲ, ਚਾਵਾਂ ਨਾਲ।
ShareYourGroupਵਿਦਾਇਗੀ
ਕੱਲ੍ਹ ਤੋਂ ਕੁਰਸੀ ਖ਼ਾਲੀ ਹੋਣੀ, ਚਾਹ ਵੇਲੇ ਯਾਦ ਆਉਣੀ। ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਹਾਸੇ ਬਿਨਾਂ ਇਹ ਕਮਰਾ ਲੱਗਣਾ ਸੁੰਨਾ, ਓਪਰਾ। ਜਿੱਥੇ ਰਹੋ, ਚੜ੍ਹਦੀ ਕਲਾ ਰਹੇ, ਇਹੀ ਅਰਦਾਸ ਅਸਾਡੀ। ਮਿਲਦੇ ਰਹਿਓ, ਭੁੱਲ ਨਾ ਜਾਇਓ, ਇਹ ਟੀਮ ਸਦਾ ਤੁਹਾਡੀ।
ShareYourGroup
Nothing matches. Try a shorter word, or choose All.
Choosing the right poem
- A colleague leaving for a new job: "The Empty Chair" or "नई मंज़िल". Light, grateful and looking ahead.
- A retirement after long service: "Thirty-Five Years" or "सेवानिवृत्ति". Respectful, with a smile.
- A boss or team leader: "The One Who Stayed Late". It thanks without flattering.
- Your own last day: "My Last Day". Short, and it says thank you to everyone.
- A teacher or principal retiring: see our teachers and school poems too.
Make it about the person
A farewell poem works when the room recognises the person in it. Change one line to carry a true detail: the mug nobody else was allowed to touch, the phrase they said in every meeting, the desk plant, the lunch they shared, the year they joined. One real detail gets a laugh and a lump in the throat at the same moment, which is what a farewell is for.
Reading it at the function
Say a few words of your own first, then read the poem as the close of your speech. Read slowly and look at the person at the end. Keep it to one poem. If several colleagues want to speak, agree in advance who reads a poem, so that the guest of honour does not sit through four. Hand over a written copy afterwards, in the card or in a frame. People keep these.
What to avoid
- Inside jokes that embarrass the person in front of family or senior management.
- Mention of age, health or "old days are over". Retirement is a beginning.
- Complaints about the office. A farewell is not the forum.
- Promises to stay in touch that you do not mean. Say it only if you will.
For a plain farewell or retirement wish without verse, see farewell and retirement wishes.
Good to know
- Print the poem in large type for reading aloud. A phone screen dims at the wrong moment.
Questions
Can I use these poems in an office farewell card?
Yes. Copy the poem, add the person's name above it and sign below with the team's names.
Is there a retirement poem in Hindi?
Yes. "सेवानिवृत्ति" and "विदाई की घड़ी" are in Hindi. Tap हिन्दी above the list.