One Less Friend

If all the world is just a stage,
Then life must be an act.
And all the people that we know,
Are just supporting cast.
So I don't suppose it matters,
When our friends all fade away.
There must be another stage somewhere,
With someone elses play.

I'd like to meet the author,
Just to see what makes him tick.
Why put us all together,
Just to pull us all apart.
Why write so many sad finales,
Especially in my scenes.
Why go from scene to scene,
Making friends along the way.
Then turn the page to find,
Another friend has slipped away.

Like leaving a party without saying goodbye,
You turn your back and they are gone forever.
No cheerio, no reason why.
Another act brought to conclusion,
One less friend than yesterday.
Slipped silently through careless hearts,
With so much more to do and say.

Gone too soon without fair warning,
Mournful words on cold grey mornings.
Cheated lives the author spurned,
Painful roles for all concerned.
So when I'm on that other stage,
In empty hall with curtains drawn,
I want to meet this spiteful author,
And ask him why he wrote it all.