Friends

This poem has always been a little bit of a mystery to me. I have told people many times that it was inspired by the outpouring of good will of friends when Frank Anderson passed away. And it was. But that event, in and of itself cannot truly be said to be responsible for this poem.

I was lying on the couch one Sunday trying to catch a short snooze. It was a beautiful autumn day outside and my eyes just didn't want to close. I got to thinking about Pam Anderson and how important it had been to her family to have the support of good friends after Frank's passing. Then I got to thinking about how important good friends are to me. And without actually thinking about the simile, the words came to me "Friends are like an autumn day". At the time I don't believe I really had thought about how friends are like an autumn day but I just knew that they were. The feeling that I was trying to express was that rich warm feeling I was having as I looked out the window at the beautiful fall colors and how glad I was to be alive and to have good friends. The poem quickly turned from the feeling I was having to more concrete things that friends mean to me. Throughout the poem I made use of metaphors that describe the feelings that I was having at the moment about friends. As I read the poem now there are places that don't really make sense unless the reader is feeling that rich warm feeling that only good friends and a beautiful fall day can bring.

Gale L. Wolfenbarger

3 April 1988

Friends

Friends are like an autumn day

And leaves that turned to gold,

With memories of the summer past

And visions that they hold.

Friends are jewels of rarest gems

That sparkle in the light.

Friends are blankets warm and soft

That hold you in the night.

Friends have eyes that see you shine

When you are at your best.

Friends have hearts that sift the chaff

While saving all the rest.

Friends are walls and pillows soft

That listen in the night,

While holding out the winters storm

And dreams that aren't quite right.

Friends can make a better man

While healing all your scars

And then just like a looking glass

Reveal the man you are.

Gale L. Wolfenbarger

12 October 1986