Poems for a Friend
Tug O’ War
Excerpted from Shel Silverstein’s Where The Sidewalk Ends
“I will not play at tug o' war.
I'd rather play at hug o' war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins.”
Friendship
David Thoreau
I think awhile of Love, and while I think,
Love is to me a world,
Sole meat and sweetest drink,
And close connecting link
Tween heaven and earth.
I only know it is, not how or why,
My greatest happiness;
However hard I try,
Not if I were to die,
Can I explain.
I fain would ask my friend how it can be,
But when the time arrives,
Then Love is more lovely
Than anything to me,
And so I'm dumb.
For if the truth were known, Love cannot speak,
But only thinks and does;
Though surely out 'twill leak
Without the help of Greek,
Or any tongue.
A man may love the truth and practise it,
Beauty he may admire,
And goodness not omit,
As much as may befit
To reverence.
But only when these three together meet,
As they always incline,
And make one soul the seat,
And favorite retreat,
Of loveliness;
When under kindred shape, like loves and hates
And a kindred nature,
Proclaim us to be mates,
Exposed to equal fates
Eternally;
And each may other help, and service do,
Drawing Love's bands more tight,
Service he ne'er shall rue
While one and one make two,
And two are one;
In such case only doth man fully prove
Fully as man can do,
What power there is in Love
His inmost soul to move
Resistlessly.
______
Two sturdy oaks I mean, which side by side,
Withstand the winter's storm,
And spite of wind and tide,
Grow up the meadow's pride,
For both are strong
Above they barely touch, but undermined
Down to their deepest source,
Admiring you shall find
Their roots are intertwined
Insep'rably.
A Time To Talk
Robert Frost
When a friend calls to me from the road
And slows his horse to a meaning walk,
I don’t stand still and look around
On all the hills I haven’t hoed,
And shout from where I am, What is it?
No, not as there is a time to talk.
I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,
Blade-end up and five feet tall,
And plod: I go up to the stone wall
For a friendly visit.
A Friend
Gillian Jones
A person who will listen and not condemn
Someone on whom you can depend
They will not flee when bad times are here
Instead they will be there to lend an ear
They will think of ways to make you smile
So you can be happy for a while
When times are good and happy there after
They will be there to share the laughter
Do not forget your friends at all
For they pick you up when you fall
Do not expect to just take and hold
Give friendship back, it is pure gold.
Friends For Life
Angelica Brissett
We are friends.
I've got your back,
And you have mine.
I'll help you out
Anytime!
To see you hurt,
To see you cry,
Makes me weep
And wanna die.
If you agree
To never fight,
It wouldn't matter
Who's wrong or right.
If a broken heart
Needs a mend,
I'll be right there
Till the end.
If your cheeks are wet
From drops of tears,
Don't worry,
Let go of your fears.
Hand in hand
Love is sent.
We'll be friends
Till the end!
To Me, Fair Friend, You Can Never Be Old (Sonnet 104)
William Shakespeare
To me, fair friend, you never can be old,
For as you were when first your eye I ey’d,
Such seems your beauty still. Three winters cold,
Have from the forests shook three summers’ pride,
Three beauteous springs to yellow autumn turn’d,
In process of the seasons have I seen,
Three April perfumes in three hot Junes burn’d,
Since first I saw you fresh, which yet are green.
Ah! yet doth beauty like a dial-hand,
Steal from his figure, and no pace perceiv’d;
So your sweet hue, which methinks still doth stand,
Hath motion, and mine eye may be deceiv’d:
For fear of which, hear this thou age unbred:
Ere you were born was beauty’s summer dead.
Success
Edgar A. Guest
I hold no dream of fortune vast,
Nor seek undying fame.
I do not ask when life is past
That many know my name.
I may not own the skill to rise
To glory's topmost height,
Nor win a place among the wise,
But I can keep the right.
And I can live my life on earth
Contented to the end,
If but a few shall know my worth
And proudly call me friend.
God Sends
Rosalie Carter
I think that God will never send,
A gift so precious as a friend,
A friend who always understands,
And fills each need as it demands,
Whose loyalty will stand the test,
When skies are bright or overcast,
Who sees the faults that merit blame,
But keeps on loving just the same,
Who does far more than creeds could do,
To make us good, to make us true,
Earth's gifts a sweet contentment lend,
But only God can give a friend.
The Love of a Friend
Poet Unknown
Like music heard on still waters,
Like pines when the wind passeth by,
Like pearls in the deep of the ocean,
Like stars which enamel the sky,
Like June and the odor or roses,
Like dew and the freshness of morn,
Like sunshine which kisses the clover,
Like tassels of silk on the corn,
Like notes of thrush in the woodland,
Like brooks where violets grown,
Like rainbows that arch the blue heaven,
Like clouds when the sun dippeth low,
Like dreams of Arcadian pleasure
Like colors which gracefully blend,
Like everything breathing of pureness,
Like these is the love of a friend.
Friends Like You
Catherine Pulsifer
Friends like you keep me from feeling blue
You accept me and always let me be
I can count on you always doesn't matter the day
Our friendship has stood the test
It is sometimes hard to believe we are still the best
Our friendship once like new wine but now with years gone by
it has stood the test of time
I count my blessings everyday
you are the best I often say
You always care, you never dare
A friend indeed, you fill a need
Together we grow old, our friendship is like gold
The years go by but I will not sigh.
Thank you my friend my dear
for always being clear
Because friends like you
are so special too!
Old Friends
William Butler Yeats
Though you are in your shining days,
Voices among the crowd
And new friends busy with your praise,
Be not unkind or proud,
But think about old friends the most:
Time's bitter flood will rise,
Your beauty perish and be lost
For all eyes but these eyes.
