THE FRIEND

THE FRIEND

Find me the place where this began?
That crack in the future if you can
Define the benchmark we both ignored
Cleaved by the thrust of a Damocles sword

I was sure that you were no more than friend
Installed by one kindness I did not intend
Yet seized by perception to be so much more
Ignoring denials it pushed back that closed door

So now when I wake I am thinking your name
Deviate from my path just to see you again
Find reasons to call you for no reason at all
And that time without you is beyond my recall

But if I don’t see you or hear your sweet voice
The day seems distorted like a lamp angle poise
A twisted sobriety with no cause of drink
For this dormant automaton with no reason to think

How came this transition? Why did I not see?
Who plied velvet shackles to one always free?
When did you transmute to lover from friend?
What reason of subtlety do I not comprehend?

And yet where you are then shall I be close by
In the tempest becalmed on an island of sighs
To transcend that dimension where no other can go
Left behind is a friend for the lover I know

JP