Dedication

I think friendship guarantees heartache as much at it does bliss; I also think we should be thankful for that.

Another year of friendship past,
at times divided by chasms
of dispute, or at other times
re-forged in the fires of need,
and the lines upon our faces
confirm the handiwork of fate.

Here is to shared senility.
Yet in my love for you I wish
for sporadic bouts of heartbreak,
moments of strain meant for Atlas
that will force you onto your knees.
I wish this because you are strong.

May you submit your skin to the
callous scrapes of savage nature,
until it splits and blood spills forth.
Perhaps it will stain a much-loved
shirt and serve to remind you on
cozy nights that you are mortal.

Pray you long for a far-off love
with a passion fit to combust,
and may your darling forget for
a short span that you were ever
ready to lay down your life in
the fine pursuit of selflessness.

And crave also a brush with death,
your own or that of someone close,
thankful for the chance to stare at
the vast white of infinity.
May you search that abyss and find
that it harbors the greatest peace.

If these things come to pass whilst we
travel on these roads we have shared,
I will not marvel at your strength -
only that you have endured the
painful work of an earthly life
and remained the friend of years past.