Surface. - Poetry Novel

issues

Someone once asked me
Why don't I use the term "best friends"
I responded that the word is used like different jeans used throughout the weekend.

I have an issue .. I remember bad times so fondly, but the good times disappear from memory
Like an 80 year old
Dementia is the illness
And there's one time when a friend I'd known told us
"I can't call you best friends. I have many of those"
When I thought about it , we were the problem, I suppose

So I'm sorry if I don't throw the word around
But I'm not an abuser
The word has to be felt not just given to a crowd
Or given just for labels and to be screamed out loud.

To me, it means sticking around through fire and rain
To accept the other for their bests and worst and appreciate them the same
To trust them with this title bestowed
Is something I only do for few folks I know

So if you never hear me say it to you
Directly
"Best friend"
It probably means I will someday
You should stick around
Till the end
That being best friends to me
Isn't some free coupon in the back of the book
But my trust , my friendship , my never-ending support
To you.

Written November 2023