Old Friends Poem by Jim Yerman

They meet as strangers…unfamiliar…apprehensive…
their first meeting…tentative but sweet.
Which, when you stop to think about it, is how most people meet.

From this uncertain beginning…their relationship extends
They find they have a lot in common…and strangers become friends.

Their friendship is strengthened by laughter, by sharing hopes and dreams,
by holding on to one another as they ride through life's extremes.

But life is unpredictable…as often is life's way…
causing friends to bid adieu…to go their separate ways.

They part amid some sadness, yet happy at what they've achieved…
for they have given the gift of friendship, and friendship have received.

Years slip by until they meet again…this meeting; tenderhearted
It's as if there was no loss of time…as if they never parted.

They are experiencing one of life's wonders…shared only among friends…
That friendship has no time limit…that it's memory never ends.

Yes, old friends understand the secret…new friends will one day learn
That friendship never says goodbye…but waits patiently for its return.