a vanished friend

around the corner I have a friend,
in this great city that has no end,

yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
and before I know it, a year is gone.

and I never see my old friends face,
for life is a swift and terrible race,

he knows I like him just as well,
as in the days when I rang his bell.

and he rang mine but we were younger then,
and now we are busy, tired men.

tired of playing a foolish game,
tired of trying to make a name.

“tomorrow” I say! “I will call on him
just to show that I am thinking of him.”

but tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
and distance between us grows and grows.

around the corner, yet miles away,
“here’s a telegram sir,” “he died today.”

and that’s what we get and deserve in the end.
around the corner, a vanished friend.