I Have Friends Who Can No Longer Walk Poem by Shalom Freedman

I have friends who can no longer walk
And a friend who can no longer listen to music
And friends who cannot leave the house
And two friends who will never leave the hospice
And friends no drug can completely take the pain from -

It is not good to see one's friends grow old
And become so much less than they were-

It is not good to see one's friends grow old and suffer
And be unable to help them in any real way

It is not good to be old
And see what happens to the people one knows
And wait for the inevitable to happen to oneself-

It is not good to be unable to help in any real way
The friends one cares for.