Friends, not lovers, protect us from ourselves.
They can hold us steady, disentangle
emotional strings, retrieve he who delves
too deep; ungrip the hand that would strangle
from life all good reason to continue
the good fight (for a good cause warranted).
Such is the good friend, with every sinew,
a good connection, a well-cemented
source of truth; a solid anchor of sorts,
a fixed point of reference, not to be moved
by whim or fancy (such as love contorts);
so admired, esteemed, and much approved.
. Such is the friend who through life endures,
. promises nothing …. simply reassures.

© Tim Grace, 23 June 2012

To the reader: Love, besotted love, is emotionally vulnerable. Through devotion, tender love is unable to detach itself from heartfelt entanglements. The bond of friendship, however, has commitment without the surrender of proximity. Through distance a friend maintains objectivity; sometimes critical in the heat of emotional turmoil. The lover will tend to move towards the fire; the friend one-step back. A lover will sacrifice; a friend will rescue.

To the poet: The continuity of rhythm and meter delivers flow; but, the principles of design apply to poetry … too much of a good thing detracts from character and diminishes interest. The deliberate disturbance of flow is part of a writer’s craft. Displacement is an effective ploy in attracting attention; but overplayed the strategy loses impact – predictability is the pitfall.

Friends – not lovers
Picture Source:
http://youtu.be/SuUrG4Y29do