A Single Friend Poem by John Yaws

You know, I've been a drifter,
For over thirty years.
I've known my share of laughter-
And, likewise shed some tears.
I've ridden western deserts-
And faced the tropic rain...
And of all the injuries I've known-
The worst is "Inward pain".
There is no cure for heartbreak,
Nor confidence betrayed.
We can't reveal the deepest hurts,
That's just the way we're made.
The agony of standing,
Beside a loved one's grave...
We dare not let our pain be seen...
We "Stand tall and be brave".
The lonely nights we've suffered,
While living on the road,
Are merely food for writing-
It helps us bear the load.
The saddest thing of all, I guess-
Is when we reach the end,
There will be no way of knowing,
If we left a single friend.
A friend to love you as you are,
Who does not seek to change.
Accepts your faults and fallacies-
And does not think them strange.
A friend to shed a single tear,
There at our journey's end...
Perhaps a life's worth living,
If we leave a single friend.