Contemplating the list of absent friends,

Lost along the miles of life’s journey; so many names.

Names that have almost been forgotten,

Amidst those I’m shocked must be included.

Considering each, one by one,

Turning them over in my mind.

Recalling the circumstances of their exodus,

Whether they have ghosted silently into history

Leaving only an empty space behind.

Or disappeared in a sudden explosion of bitter words.

Angry scars remaining as a testament to their passing.

Some journeys we’ve shared have covered many miles,

Others began and ended in what seems the blink of an eye.

I have fought valiantly to save a few,

Unwilling to accept what appeared inevitable.

Several have been hurried on their way to obscurity,

Their demands judged too dear,

Their value unequal to their ultimate cost.

But what of those still here, growing slowly distant?

Hanging suspended as if by a climber’s rope

Its fibers abraded by each month’s silence

As if passing over the sharp edge of protruding rock

How much silence can be endured,

Before the strands can no longer carry

The weight of my growing disappointment.