I Have A Friend

I have a friend who I have known
Since our pebble-picking days
Since a bird's cry, a rain-shower
Could wash all our fears away
Since we learned to tie our laces
In a big, unwieldy bow
Since we stuck our tongues out in the rain
And wished that it was snow.

I have a friend; I grew with her
We giggled in the sand,
Ate orange ice, rolled in the grass
Created other lands.
I have a friend who made a world
Seeking shelter from her own
All the while she just kept smiling
Never let her sorrow show.

We went to school, we went to gigs
We drew, we laughed, we played,
We still believed in magic
While the youthful spirits stayed.
We dashed around the hockey pitch
Hung windchimes from our tree,
Embroidered then in quiet thought
The dreams we could not see.

My friend thought she was big enough to face her fears alone,
Succeeded for so many years- but in the dark they'd grown
Took solace from the things she'd loved when we were young and free
And locked up all her secrets in a chest of misery.

One day I chanced upon the chest and brushed away the dust,
Was painful to unlock it, but we both knew that I must-
And when the cobwebs all were gone, all that remained to see
Was a golden chain, exuding light, connecting her to me.

I have a friend I love so much
It's impossible to say
Though shadows of her past haunt her
I'll chase them all away
And though our paths, once intertwined
Have gone their separate ways,
My friend, I will be here for you
Until my final day.