With dear friends around you don’t need a mirror
Friends provide context for you to be a giver
They hold and heal stretch and reveal
Keep you on course act as your keel

Friends provide what you cannot assess
In money or gold or any success
They allow you to be just who you are
When you need them they come from afar

They love and accept what you do and say
When they disagree they respect anyway
Their genteel cajoling keeps you on your toes
They notice your foibles when you’re not a rose

Their presence comforts and is transparent
When you need they become a parent
They come in all sizes all forms and colors
They add to your family of sisters and brothers

They chill your anxiety cure hypertension
They help you choose when setting direction
In the end when ready to go
They bless your passage with love that’s aglow

If you are blessed by the richness friends hold
Do not be shy let them know they’re gold
Hold them and tell them and honor their gift
Love them acknowledge they provide your lift

Keep them and cherish all they do for you
Kiss and tell them you need their purview
Without them you’re not who you think you are
Friendship sets us aglow like a shining star

Who would you count as your friends?
Do they know you hold them in a special way?
Do they know what they mean to you?
How might you honor their presence in your life?
How might you say thank you?