A poem about Friends

I have some great friends. Friends for whom the word friend, is inadequate. If you feel like that about someone, this poem is for you and them.

Keep writin' and recitin'

Mark x



To whom it may concern
(names have been expunged to protect the embarrassed).
 
You will read this and know who you are
“Friend” is too small a word
for what we have become;
 
not big enough
not good enough
not broad enough.
 
Google tells me there are at least
five Greek words for love
and this is none of them
 
by themselves.
“Friend” and “love” need to evolve
to catch up with today’s shades of meaning.
 
This is not a Hollywood kiss,
bedroom eyes and unfulfilled desire,
(you may now audibly exhale your relief)
 
this is fire of a different sphere where, belief
pride, thankfulness, good cheer and like minds
shakes into a perfect summer cocktail, like
 
the slight sigh a jigsaw piece yields
when pressed into
its proper place,
 
completing the big picture
as if there was a god
after all.
 
The British hardly acknowledge
this kind of love,
as if they haven’t been introduced
 
and saying hello
would be bad form.
So let’s just stick with “friends”
 
knowing we’re within
touching distance of “love”,
but keeping it our little secret.