Sunday, September 9, 2012

A FRIEND IN NEED

Breakfast, 1921, Fernand Leger
via Tess Kincaid at Magpie Tales



My friend talked like noise trembling,
suspended in nothing.
His words stifled the natural roar
released after power-packed punches,
that normally leave us empty,
suffocating in our own bile,
gasping for air.
  
“So what! They left.”
He needed no one, he said.
Nervously twisting his diamond ring,
nonchalantly checking his Rolex,
alluding to his Armani suit,
citing success of investments and salary boosts -
I could see his destitution.

He lost,
not just the bet we’d made long ago
about who’d win this game,
but his face
amidst the pieces,
unequipped, unfit
fragments of a puzzle with no mold
to make him whole.

I heard his eyes tell me to be quiet,
to be a friend,
and accept that this is his best,
for now.

I shook his hand, walked away
trying not to judge or elevate
my life from his,
knowing we’re all winners or losers…
at something.

Still, I wonder, what is a friend?
Was I? 

Not sure.
But I wish him well
and hope he’s there
if ever my turn
at disconnection arrives.


(Submitted to Magpie Tales and Carry on Tuesday.)

17 comments:

  1. i dunno..i would rather a friend tell me the honest truth...and i think there are things beyond the frills and bling that are so much more important...

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  2. the human condition. . . .


    Have a Great Week
    Aloha from Honolulu
    Comfort Spiral
    =^..^=

    > < } } ( ° >

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  3. I like this poem concerning the expectations of relationships... so fluid and different. There is a sense of coldness concerning the nuances of being a friend. It relates to the starkness and disassociated pieces surrounding the sculpture. Nicely done, Myrna. Thank you for sharing. =D

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  4. Well, he sounds awfully superficial to me, so I guess I don't get what you see in him that makes you his friend.

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  5. Gotta be true to your own values too.

    .......dhole

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  6. There seems to be doubts around it. In friendship any doubt spells disaster. Commitments must be guarded. Nicely Myrna!

    Hank

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  7. Interesting how friends weave in and out of our lives...

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  8. not easy...think a friend should never judge but on the other hand be honest...and it needs so much wisdom..can feel you in this myrna..

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  9. By far the best interpretation of the image I've read. You did a great job! Visiting from Carry On Tuesday.

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  10. I'm glad you didn't judge him. We all fall down and sometimes we need a friend who will help lift us up again. The most important thing is, to always try to be true to our own beliefs. Not easy to see someone making mistakes but, very nicely said Myrna.

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  11. I think I am a better friend that others are to me.....what arrogance I display!

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  12. You are a very wise friend, knowing perhaps this is the best he can do right now...sometimes we can only be the observer, with empathy for how people create so much of their own suffering sometimes.....loved this, Myrna! You have so much life wisdom.

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  13. I heard his eyes tell me to be quiet,
    to be a friend,
    and accept that this is his best,
    for now.


    very moving...

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