what friend can you think of
who would lay down their very life?
who would starve with you?
stand by you even when
there is only abuse in the offing?
what friend do you have that would
comfort you without a word?
touch you and not shy from your
inability to say what is needed?
come when you call for a simple touch?
and lay at your feet to ward off the chill?
what friend would love you unconditionally?
alert you of danger and walk through fire
to save your very life?
what friend do you have
that will search for you
though it be a journey of a thousand miles?
what friend do you have that would stay by you
though you be dying from contagious disease?
or disturbed beyond repair?
what friend do you have that would
stay with your dead body and let no foe
desecrate your spent self?
your friend
your dog
©
Neal Franklin Jerome III
U.S.A.
August 22, 1999
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