You find your real friends
When you are going through hell
It’s easy to tell
They are just around the bend
And only love do they send
Fake friends can’t be found
In pain they are not around
And they make no sound
They leave you to stand alone
And with no love to be shone
Bills are piling high, pills will not do, and you want to cry;
Your roof is leaking, your soul is seeking, you want to die,
But you really try to stay calm, without any healing balm;
You feel lonely and frightened in the deadly dark of night,
And you reach ‘n try to teach yourself just to quiet down,
And you preach to yourself but anxiety still rises in heart
And every part of your being and you’re not seeing relief;
It is in times like this . . . sometimes you just need a friend;
Sometimes you need a bosom, helping hand, caring heart,
Yes, it is truly true . . . sometimes you just need that friend;
You need the touch, the reassurance that it will be alright,
And that there’s no need for fright or to live in the blight;
You need the light shining from another soul to your own,
Seeds of love sown . . . sometimes you just need the friend
To tell you this is not the end, there’s a bend in the road,
And that you’re going to make it as they take your hand,
And without judgment join with you to make two in one;
Yeah . . . sometimes you just need a friend . . . some friend;
Sometimes you just need a friend . . .
There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother or sister. (Proverbs 18.24b)
So you ask me what I’m doing, skewing my position
While screwing me over with all your lofty demands,
Wanting me to put money first like a bee with honey,
To ‘get back on my feet’ along the well-beaten path
Trod by Western materialists just like you yourself,
But did it ever occur to you that I’ve
Rejected the imperialist way of life?
What am I doing while gluing my life back together?
Perhaps I’m answering a higher calling
Rather than bawling behind some desk!
Maybe, just maybe, I’ve chosen to take an upper path;
And does it pay more? You do the math and tell me!
Ah, money only reaches so far; there’s a bar in the sky;
And I am willing to say ‘goodbye’ to all of that muck,
And to buck the trend while I bend my neck and knees
Only to the One who has brought me this far already;
You see, crawling or brawling are no longer necessary;
I am a poet with a penchant for love, joy and serenity,
And I do not toy with the lives of others for sickly gain;
That would drive me insane and cause a deal of pain,
But there is One who trains for a strange sort of feat
Completely off of the beaten path of this old world,
And sweetens it with an unusual success all its own;
So thank you for brashly telling me to set some goals,
But goals have already been set, and I didn’t ask you
To bother about my life anyway, so why now the knife?
If you want to be a friend, then be a friend to the end,
But don’t screw with me and tell me to be like you!
I am me, who God created me to be, and I shall be me!
As my soul wanders thru numinous grove
Pondering my role and high goal in this life,
You move like liquid crystal so wistfully
And mystically, calling me past artificial
Existence to something more beneficial,
Beyond superficial reality and all banality;
You bid me to enter into an halcyon day,
Luxuriant and peaceful, deep and blissful,
And so I turn to you to unbind my spirit,
Unblind my eyes, and find myself renewed
Into the real me I was always meant to be
. . .
And so I take a chance and dance
In the expanse you freely enhance
As you romance this child in the wild
Note: First published in early October 2016. Republished due to some renewed interest as well as for the enjoyment of new reader-followers. Blessings to one and all!
Heavy is the pack
By your side, I’ll be your back
No help you will lack
Long the road ahead
Here, my chest to rest your head
And you’ll be well-fed
Deepest sea to sail
I will guard you from the gale
With me you’ll prevail
Carry on . . . I am with you,
Never to leave nor forsake!
There is nothing quite like the expression of friendship
To drive away obsession and depression in relaxation
Of heart to heart camaraderie, the pottery of two souls;
Just walking, talking, smiling ‘n laughing, stalking joy!
Oh what heavenly gift to sift the mind ‘n bind the devil;
Ah! Truly friends are one spirit abiding in two bodies,
Bold against the cold throws of an icy, cruel world . . .
No, there’s nothing quite like the love of true friendship!
How can we raise a paean to such a saurian
Without playing the part of the tragedienne?
He is an ugly reptile of grotesque formation,
Curse of creation and symbol of damnation!
But one might rightly suppose that everyone
Deserves an encomium no matter the odium;
‘Give the devil his due’ may be true
But you knew precious little praise
Would be raised up for his person
When you took the bait and sealed your fate
At an altar with many witnesses to tragedy!
Now an agony comes in living your phantasy
Without any approbation for the ruination
Of your life because those who do love you
Esteem you too much to offer such a crutch!
No, there is no commendation
For your double-headed snake,
Only resignation for your sake;
But most of us keep out of sight
To sidestep his poisonous bite,
And you might have done the same but . . .
You’re left alone to hear his seething tone!
So, how can we raise a paean to this saurian
Without playing the part of the tragedienne?
Our only urge is to intone your funeral dirge!
Capitulation to manipulation is only bondage
In which you pay homage to fear as hostage;
Love is not exploitation, vexation and soul starvation;
Love is exaltation, celebration and heart liberation!
Submission to nefarious calculation and scheming
Is dreaming of happiness in an inescapable dungeon
Of lies that fly straight from the pits of dark Abaddon!
Being manipulated is really the same as being hated:
You are being twisted and torn, turned and burned
With no real compassion or affection ever returned,
While the puppet-master grins, writing your life
With his very own pen . . . again and again and again!
Know truth; stand on truth; cling to truth; speak truth
And refuse to bow again to the clever, levering cow!
Did I not show you any attention?
I’m sorry; I didn’t know!
Did I seem to ignore you in the crowd?
But it was so busy and loud . . .
Please excuse me for being human –
I am, after all, only one man –
Did I seem to turn my eyes away?
But there’s something else to say:
So many people walking, talking,
Dancing and laughing and, really
It’s not my way to be so swayed
That I snub friend and kin in spirit!
Please believe me and relieve me
Of this unbearable burden . . .
I never meant to hurt;
In fact, I’d give you my very shirt
If you needed it and even more
Without considering it a chore,
And this is honestly true;
Yes, I knew you were there, but . . .
Oh, time! And people and chime
Of the clock, and I seemed blocked
From drawing near you, my dear!
I will show you attention
Now that I know and say,
‘Away with the crowd so loud!’
Only forgive me for being human –
I am, after all, only one man –
And the demands of life command
So much of my very self, but . . .
Here I am now and bow to you;
Forgive me for grieving you so!
Forgive me for leaving you alone!
I am, after all, only one man . . .
Oh! You were my friend, closer than kin,
Who could comprehend my own heart
More than I, and apprehend my feelings
Much better than anyone else,
Reading me like an open letter,
And could loosen the fetters that bound,
And, too, you seemed to be ever around
When I needed you, my one true friend;
Ah! But you plunged your knife deep
Into the keep of my despondent soul
With words of malice and ugly anger
And for the first time I sensed danger;
Then my soul shriveled up within me
And I’ve left you no key to unlock me;
Such sacred bonds have been broken,
And no token of love can easily heal
Deep wounds that steal intimate trust;
Now you’ve made your deadly thrust
And I must guard each part of my heart
As we start over again
To chart a new course
Rather than simply parting our ways;
Friendship is delicate and no one can
Quite estimate just how relevant and
Even preeminent it is in life . . . my life!
Truly it is said, ‘True friends are one
Soul inhabiting two bodies!’ And amen!
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