The Departed Friend

If some grave power left us here, Solitary seekers in the night, Lonely voyeurs of the light,Shall we blaspheme what strength appears?Far better, broader, more intense To see the sign of good in things; Amid haphazard waywardings,Love what loveliness may commence.FROM THE INTRO: VENOM AND AGONYLosing a friend is no easier or simpler than losing a limb. Whether through death, disagreement, or the theft of marriage, the loss comes to define a definite, though retrospectively imposed,...
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If some grave power left us here, Solitary seekers in the night, Lonely voyeurs of the light,Shall we blaspheme what strength appears?Far better, broader, more intense To see the sign of good in things; Amid haphazard waywardings,Love what loveliness may commence.FROM THE INTRO: VENOM AND AGONYLosing a friend is no easier or simpler than losing a limb. Whether through death, disagreement, or the theft of marriage, the loss comes to define a definite, though retrospectively imposed, era. So it was with me. A heartsick fight with my best friend on the eve of his moving out of the apartment to join his fianc#65533;e in brotherly Philadelphia. The disagreement was over what I considered his maligning of a third, mutual friend-secretly harbored disorders of swallowed dislike and differences. All of which would resolve themselves in short order by his removal to Philadelphia! Much better, I thought, for the two of them to part friends and stay in occasional touch. To him, it was a matter of addressing an injustice and, from the way he vomited on, disgust with past demands and behaviors. I should have let the whole thing just go down the drain myself, but instead I sent, a week later, an intemperate email outlining my unhappiness with his vile display. And thus, a strong, wonderously discovered friendship was lost, flushed onto the seaweed-rancid rocks-beyond the resurrection of moonlight or regret. Ah! Stupidity, stupidity.