OLD FRIENDS

We opened our treasures
Each in turn
Laying them before us.
Some took time, passive observers.
Some needed wine
To release the shackles of the years.
Adjacent, across, over
Interwoven at our table of friendship.
Louder, laughter, joy
Memories outpoured.
We swapped the same jewels,
Some faded by the years,
Replenished by sharing,
Polished by remembrance.
We all had similar gems
Crystals that grew at the same time.
In those moments, the walls of the years
And towers of success,
Which are diligently guarded,
Are vacated
As we all melt into the colour of the evening
To flow mellifluously
In joyful camaraderie.
The starlit farewells
And cool evenings kisses
The pleasant long distance hugs
And the anthem which promises a repeat,
When the years have ravaged a little more,
See our fortress manned
And our treasures locked away,
Crystals that cannot be stolen
And sadly never regrown.
At this time of life we buy them pre-cut,
And store them in different caskets.
The older crystals have grown the biggest
and matured with the years,
Hardened into diamonds.
Precious and priceless.

Ron Harding