Day 287: The Loss of a Friend

---

∴

the loss of a friend,
i think,
is harder than that of a lover.

for how else do we soothe
the loss of lovers
but by the aid
of good friends?

 

these precious personal confidantes
cheer us on
in the pursuit of ourselves.

 

is there anything of higher value?

 

for i have come to learn that a lover or a spouse
might only cheer the pursuit of themselves
in you.

– that a child will grow
(as they should)
up,
and out,
and away.

– that a parent fades protections
(as they should)
into well-wishes, and general correspondence,
and holiday dinners at one.

 

but a friend is not thusly invested
in the withdrawal of accounts.

it is in the dividends
of time spent
that we are paid.

 

there are few who are given this authority:
to adamantly confirm our rightness,
and scoff at a world that doesn’t “get us,”
while making safe spaces
to reveal our faults
in full disclosures
and see how wrong,
but loved anyway,
we are.

∴

 

---