The Blind Friend

I could not see the perfect friend

Friends will come and friends will go, and life takes them away

And sometimes we are enemies, or strangers day to day

But one there was who never failed, was always at my side

Endured my wrath and selfishness, and soon forgave my pride

A golden friend with lashing tail and swollen fun-filled heart

Would follow me through anything and never want to part

On mountainside and riverbed through rapefields and thick snow

Or simply resting at my feet in garden fire's glow

Who's look was joy, and tail was truth and fangs were made to smile

Who's one desire was pleasing me and wandering a while

And yet for all the love he gave, his worth I failed to see

With ignorance and indifference, I dismissed him clumsily

And on one sunny afternoon, as I angered through the day

I learned that his old furry body was finally in decay

And then I knew that licks and wags and bounds of joy for me

Were given even though he fought to keep his pain at ease

What friend I lost, what truth I found, that tore my heart in two

What angry soul I seethed at me, for finally I knew

That I had squandered treasure, a companion rare indeed

Had never given the simple thing, the love he asked of me

If I could wrench him back from death and give him one good year

I would treat him like a prince and fill his life with cheer

And would lavish him with ball and bone and cuddles from my soul

To let him know how dear he was, and how I miss him so

This gentle creature who enriched my life, and showed me how to smile

Who warmed my cold and selfish heart and waited through my trials

Who never wandered far from me, and waited round the bend

Was surely a friend the like of which will never come again

That Faithful soul who worshipped me and always sought to please

Has left me shamed and in agony, and become a willow tree

And yet I know that had he lived, my friend would still forgive

But never will I forgive myself, for as long as I shall live

But there is one thing I can do, one change I can now make

To stop this madness and tend to loves, and heal the hearts I break

For it is now a time for me to change and set me free

From wrath and pain, to embrace love, it is Willow's gift to me

In memory of our beautiful golden retriever, Willow, who died last week.