WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND ? - by James Kavanaugh

 

WILL  YOU  BE  MY  FRIEND ?  by James Kavanaugh Will you be my friend ?There are so many reasons why you never should:I’m sometimes sullen, often shy, acutely sensitive,My fear erupts as anger, I find it hard to give,I talk about myself when I’m afraidAnd often spend a day without anything to say.    But I will make you laughAnd love you quite a bitAnd hold you when you’re sad.I cry a little almost every dayBecause I’m more caring than the strangers ever know,And, if at times, I show my tender side(The soft and warmer part I hide)I wonder, will you be my friend ?     A friend who far beyond the feebleness of any vow or tieWill touch the secret place where I am really I,To know the pain of lips that plead and eyes that weep,Who will not run away when you find me in the streetAlone and lying mangled by my quota of defeatsBut will stop and stay-to tell me of another dayWhen I was beautiful.Will you be my friend ?     There are so many reasons why you never should:Often I’m too serious, seldom predictably the same,Sometimes cold and distant, probably I’ll always change.I bluster and brag, seek attention like a child,I brood and pout, my anger can be wild,But I will make you laugh and love you quite a bitAnd be near you when you’re afraid.     I shake a little almost every dayBecause I’m more frightened than the strangers ever knowAnd if at times I show my trembling side(The anxious, fearful part I hide)I wonder, will you be my friend ?     A friend who, when I feel your closeness, feels me push awayAnd stubbornly will stay to share what’s left on such a day,Who, when no one knows my name or calls me on the phone,When there’s no concern for me – what I have or haven’t done-And those I’ve helped and counted on have oh, so deftly, run,Who, when there’s nothing left but me, stripped of charm andSubtlety, will nonetheless remain.     Will you be my friend ?For no reason that I know, Except I want you so.