A quick chat,
smiles.
Small talk, how you doing?
No depth, no expectations,
no reliance.
Tenuous connections, casual links.
Possibility.
Acquaintance.
Easy going chatter,
laughter.
Questions, how are you?
Preliminary, testing,
exploring.
A request for help, gladly accepted.
Potential.
New.
A conversation,
giggles.
Investigation, how have you been?
Trust, knowledge,
memories.
Do you remember? How could I forget?
Stability.
Old.
Listening, hearing,
grins.
Concern, is that the truth?
Love, protection,
acceptance.
Call in a crisis, always there.
Safety.
Best.
As someone who has lived in several different cities, I have gone through the process of developing friendships many times. I have made friends, left friends, lost and kept friends. Keeping in touch is tough but with real friends; the do you remember and call in a crisis ones; it could be a week, a month or a year and it will seem like yesterday.
I feel a lot of guilt at not being better at keeping touch, and there are certain times of year where that guilt comes into focus.
But, in a world where people don’t stay in one place and where electronic and video conversations become the norm rather than the exception, perhaps we simply need to accept the distance and disconnection, the excitement of building new friendships, the loss of those that don’t work out and the joy of catching up with old friends when we can.
You can find this weeks #ThePrompt linky here. I do hope this week’s prompt inspired you; I look forward to reading your posts.
I love the way you’ve used the poem to reflect on the different types and stages of friendships, picking up on all the little nuances on how friendship is communicated. I think many of us struggle to keep in touch with people as often as we’d like although I love social media for being able to keep track of how my friends are getting on even when we don’t find the time for long chats. And it is always wonderful to call up or meet up with an old friend when the passing time just melts away again. Lovely post :-)
Love this!
It’s all in there and I agree that we have to accept that friends will come and go throughout our lives.
Lovely writing, Sara X
Oh I adore this Sara. So so true. I think sometimes we have to accept the loss or distance in friendships without beating ourselves up too much. Fab prompt this week xx
I love this – such a great way of capturing the different stages and types of friendship. As you say, the great thing about best friends is they are always there for you, in spirit if not in person. I feel very fortunate to have a fair few friends in the last category. I think friends are the key to happiness actually, as really good ones will challenge you as well as support you so that you can be the best you can be. To have the love of true friends is the tonic to life’s ills! Great post – and great prompt, I’m feeling all emotional reading the links! xx
A succinct post Sara. One that perfectly describes each form of friendship. Dare I say that the majority of my daily interactions these days are through the online community, be they fellow bloggers or through social media. Even texts are most definitely the norm. Friendship will never go out of fashion though, will it?
So true that you can go a whole year without seeing a true friend but it means nothing. One of my besties lives in Brisbane and I’ve not seen her since 2008, but she remains as close to me as ever. Thank goodness for free texting apps xxx
I love the way each stanza (is that the right word? I’m thinking back to A Level English now!) represents a different type of friendship. Lovely writing.
This is lovely. I really like the different tone of each section – you can feel the uncertainty of the acquaintance, the keenness of a new friend, cosiness of an old friend, and the comfort of a best friend. We lose friends and make new ones as we move through life, and especially if we move to new cities or countries. It’s better to accept that than feel guilty about it. Xxx #ThePrompt
Great poem. I like the way it follows the path of a true friendship. Like you, I’ve moved around quite a bit and I am so with you about true friends; you know exactly who you can call on in a crisis but, more importantly, you know you will be there for them.
I love the way you put all those words together to summarise what friendship means in its various guises. Yes it is hard to stay in touch and I know what you mean about the guilt, but making new friends is also fun too.
Love your poem. It sums up all the different types of friendship. And you’re right, even if it’s been a year since you last saw a friend, when you get together it seems like yesterday. That’s when you know they’re true friends.
Love this. It’s true, there are so many different friendships, some last, some don’t, some need no work at all and just ARE. Beautiful poem x
This post has resonated with me so much, your words are so touching, so economical-a sign of an incredibly gifted writer. The hairs on my arms were raised reading this.
It sums up everything I feel about my old and new friends and the fact I’m always open to more.
I’ve pulled away from negative relationships since having kids and I’ve also had to come to terms with the fact that just because you’ve known someone for years, doesn’t mean they’re good for you. Thanks for linking up to #brilliatblogposts x
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