I Had A Friend

in our journey from birth to death
we cross paths with multitudes
some walk with us for a ways
then leave for different by-ways

sometimes our paths cross again
but the rivers we tread
and the persons we became
keep changing, not the same

even deep emotional connections
diverge, thinning to nothing or
splitting by social pressures
conditioning and misunderstanding

the result is the same …
my only friend, the end …
fervently hoping for a friend’s contentment
along and to the chosen road’s end

–LE – 10/8/25