I lost a friend last week, a friend I hadn’t seen in years;
A friend who never knew how much a friend he was to me.
For he went his way, I went mine, the way each lifetime steers;
Although I wonder now how much we govern what will be.
You reach out in and by the standards you’ve already set;
And if it doesn’t happen as you then expect it to,
You never blame yourself—that thought is much too painful yet.
And rarely is the prompting what you should or shouldn’t do.
Is this a vain attempt to rectify what now is past?
Of course it is, quite vain; for now there can be no response;
But I am sure of one thing—that this friendship’s sure to last;
Because—as if you didn’t know—the strength of it now haunts!
© Richard Williams