The List Of Places I Can No Longer Go Grows Ever Longer Poem by Patti Masterman

The more friends you've had,
The more places you can't go any more:
For a few years I had a best friend,
And she was inseparable from me:
New experience for me-
I didn't know life could be so grand.

A few years ago, her life changed
And she told me one day, that if every other thing
Making her life crazy were to disappear,
Then she'd be sure to have time for me again
Some time in the year 2035 or later-
Always in debt and trying to get to the principal;
Trying to take care of the dependent's dependents.

She wasn't trying to hurt me- no, what was appalling
Was how true I knew the statement
And I'm not unsympathetic-
Though we all have our own secret tortures
And some of them people know about,
But others run too deep; you wouldn't want
To hemorrhage right before the shocked eyes of another.

So now I try to avoid
Being face to face with her again, because surely
She'll sense my disappointment, and I would never want
To hurt her or use all the joy she's brought
To give back pain instead.

Mark a few more places off the itinerary.
You just can't go back again.