ONCE A FRIEND

I looked up,

And at the stairwell end,

I saw a man,

Who was once my friend.

He saw me too,

And as he walked away,

I knew it was true,

But I just could not say,

For many years ago,

When my hair was not so gray,

I had met this man, who was now

Walking away.





We had become great friends,

And it was a pity how it all came to an end.

I was young then, with money my need,

And I betrayed my friend for just another
property deed.

I was foolish enough to snub him by the nose,

And walk away, gaily as a rose.

But that rose withered away long ago,

And left an atmosphere in which only sorrow could
grow.

And seeing his face again,

dealt that one last blow,

And without a sound

I fell to the ground.

That's the last thing I remember,

Until I awoke in a hospital bed,

With deep down a feeling of dread.

But when I looked up I saw him again,

And reaching out my hand,

Ignoring the pain.

He clasped my hands with tears in his eyes,

He told me to relax, and not to rise.

I had had a heart attack,

Which had led to my falling down the stairs

Like a potato sack.

But my friend had been there,

The same one I had betrayed,

From whose friendship I had strayed,

He had brought me here,

To this warm hospital bed,

And saved my life instead.

I opened my mouth but could not speak,

I had been in coma for a week

But now I felt happy,

Happy enough to live,

Oh, what better gift could God give,

Than a true friend

This was really a God-send.



I am old, lonely and gray,

And its very easy for me to say,

That money does not matter,

And even though my health is in tatters,

I have the security of knowing,

That friendship is and always will be everything.

And I have beside me,

The man who was once my friend,

And now again is my friend,

My friend to this very end.



~Rishabh Gulati~

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