Thick and Thin

Those friends who second-fiddled you
For years as you sat rigidly
And martyr-like, while staying mum,
Or saying, "That's all right by me";
Those instigators of sudden shifts,
Last-minute swerves for vanity's sake,
Or simply out of carelessness,
The dictates of the clouds and tides;
Good-timers when the mood is right, and suits them;
Bawlers when they need a tolerant ear;
Complainers of the injuries thrust upon them
(Who blithely injure others they "hold dear");
Perpetuators of promises extended,
Promises reneged, recast, repealed;
Pleaders of "But oh we must," "Ah, wait,"
Then breathlessly: "And now we can't, I fear!"
Those friends? One dawn you rouse yourself from stupor
And realize the error that you made
The day you granted them the license
To harry you with torment, strife, and strain.