Come to my place one night, without notice
Don’t make the stairs creak
I am so tired, don’t ask
Only you can understand me
Let’s sit down and talk all night
Nobody to hear us
Let’s have our blue sky
And let’s fly, my wings touching yours.
I feel alienated from all people
There is only you
I am so tired, don’t ask
You know.
Edgar Albert Guest
A friend is one who stands to share
Your every touch of grief and care.
He comes by chance, but stays by choice;
Your praises he is quick to voice.
No grievous fault or passing whim
Can make an enemy of him.
And though your need be great or small,
His strength is yours throughout it all.
No matter where your path may turn
Your welfare is his chief concern.
No matter what your dream may be
He prays your triumph soon to see.
There is no wish your tongue can tell
But what it is your friend’s as well.
The life of him who has a friend
Is double-guarded to the end.
Edgar Albert Guest
A friend is one who stands to share
Your every touch of grief and care.
He comes by chance, but stays by choice;
Your praises he is quick to voice.
No grievous fault or passing whim
Can make an enemy of him.
And though your need be great or small,
His strength is yours throughout it all.
No matter where your path may turn
Your welfare is his chief concern.
No matter what your dream may be
He prays your triumph soon to see.
There is no wish your tongue can tell
But what it is your friend’s as well.
The life of him who has a friend
Is double-guarded to the end.
I have a friend who is estranged from a family member. My friend wants to end the estrangement and is willing to let bygones be bygones. My friend sent her sibling a letter expressing her desire to get back together and forget the issues that divided them. She never got a response. It’s a sad situation. We can try to reconcile but it takes two to make it work. Part of the lyrics from the song, It Takes Two to Tango, read, “You can haunt any house by yourself / Be a man or a mouse by yourself / You can act like a king on a thrown / There are lots of things that you can do alone / But it takes two to tango two to tango.” The best one can do is to be open to reconciliation. If the opportunity presents itself, embrace it. Let the past rejected attempts go and be grateful it happened. If it never happens, one can be at peace knowing he/she gave it his/her best shot.
When to the session of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time’s waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,
For precious friends hid in death’s dateless night,
And weep afresh love’s long since cancelled woe,
And moan the expense of many a vanish’d sight:
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o’er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrows end.
Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Aesop’s Fable, The Bear and the Travelers. Aesop’s Fables is available for free download here.
The Fable
“Two Travelers were on the road together, when a Bear suddenly
appeared on the scene. Before he observed them, one made for a tree
at the side of the road, and climbed up into the branches and hid
there. The other was not so nimble as his companion; and, as he
could not escape, he threw himself on the ground and pretended to
be dead. The Bear came up and sniffed all round him, but he kept
perfectly still and held his breath: for they say that a bear will
not touch a dead body. The Bear took him for a corpse, and went
away. When the coast was clear, the Traveler in the tree came
down, and asked the other what it was the Bear had whispered to him
when he put his mouth to his ear. The other replied, “He told me
never again to travel with a friend who deserts you at the first
sign of danger.”
Note: A friend is someone we count on when the going gets tough. I have lots of folks I’m friendly with. I know and am friendly with all my neighbors. But who can I count on when my back is against the wall? I am fortunate to have friends who would drop everything and help me. I hope they feel the same way about me. True friends are the glue that holds society together. Life has its difficult moments for everyone. During those difficult moments a faithful friend offers the strength we need to grind through. I hope you have true friends and offer true friendship to others.
