Happy Poetry Friday! The round-up today is hosted by Tracey Kiff-Judson on her blog: Tangles & Tails. Thanks for hosting Tracey!

I didn’t intend to post today but here I am. It’s been an odd few weeks. I’m tired, as I’ve not been sleeping well – so expect this post to be all over the place.

First, my OLW for 2024. I chose the word RELEASE. Last year’s word was ENOUGH, as in I am enough. Do you see a trend here?

I had much less of a process this year, as the word kind of just came to me after visiting friends. Unfortunately, I ruminated about our visit for two weeks after it occurred. It is not healthy to do this.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I have to release and let go of some friendships. This is hard for me as I don’t have many friends but I also realize that some long-standing friendships just aren’t working for me anymore.

I know it sounds selfish and perhaps it is but it’s also in the interest of self-preservation, mental health, and self-care.

What kinds of friends rarely ask about what you’re up to? How your vacation was? Or ask your opinion and engage you in a conversation. These friends. I often feel inconsequential, dismissed, or ignored when with this group of people. I am tired of it and I’m tired of trying.

I just finished the book CREATURES (2020) by Chrissy Van Meter, which was an odd story, written in two voices (first person and second person) but the main character fights with herself about those she loves not really knowing who she is. They never ask her about herself, but inside fill the conversational void with all kinds of things about themselves. 

Although she wants to say things, she stays quiet.

I feel like that with these friends. It’s time to release and let go of this friendship.

My entire family wonders why I’ve held on this long to these friends. I have a long list of why…

…they’re good people

—they’re generous

—they’re intelligent

—I don’t have many friends.

But, they’re really not interested in me or what I do with my time. And, oh, I have so many hobbies and interests which I could easily talk about. I think they’re not interested because they don’t ask. They never ask.

So instead, I clam up when I’m around them because I’m irritated with the dynamic – an old dynamic - that continues and presents itself every single time I am with these people.

I deserve more.

It’s sad and it hurts but life moves on and friendships change. I think it’s rare when a friendship lasts a lifetime. I do have one of those and it is precious. It’s not the same as the friendships I’m describing that I need to release.

So, there’s that.

I finished the poetry book by Louise Gluck that I wrote about last week. Then, I read what I could about her life, which was sad and informed much of her poetry. 

And while I don’t have any new poems to share with you today, I will share this one on friendship which is considered a classic:

Old Friends

By Edgar A. Guest 

I do not say new friends are not considerate and true,
Or that their smiles ain’t genuine, but still I’m tellin’ you
That when a feller’s heart is crushed and achin’ with the pain,
And teardrops come a-splashin’ down his cheeks like summer rain,
Becoz his grief an’ loneliness are more than he can bear,
Somehow it’s only old friends, then, that really seem to care.
The friends who’ve stuck through thick an’ thin, who’ve known you, good an’ bad,
Your faults an’ virtues, an’ have seen the struggles you have had,
When they come to you gentle-like an’ take your hand an’ say:
‘Cheer up! we’re with you still,’ it counts, for that’s the old friends’ way.

The new friends may be fond of you for what you are today;
They’ve only known you rich, perhaps, an’ only seen you gay;
You can’t tell what’s attracted them; your station may appeal;
Perhaps they smile on you because you’re doin’ something real;
But old friends who have seen you fail, an’ also seen you win,
Who’ve loved you either up or down, stuck to you, thick or thin,
Who knew you as a budding youth, an’ watched you start to climb,
Through weal an’ woe, still friends of yours an’ constant all the time,
When trouble comes an’ things go wrong, I don’t care what you say,
They are the friends you’ll turn to, for you want the old friends’ way.

The new friends may be richer, an’ more stylish, too, but when
Your heart is achin’ an’ you think your sun won’t shine again,
It’s not the riches of new friends you want, it’s not their style,
It’s not the airs of grandeur then, it’s just the old friend’s smile,
The old hand that has helped before, stretched out once more to you,
The old words ringin’ in your ears, so sweet an’, Oh, so true!
The tenderness of folks who know just what your sorrow means,
These are the things on which, somehow, your spirit always leans.
When grief is poundin’ at your breast — the new friends disappear
An’ to the old ones tried an’ true, you turn for aid an’ cheer.

This poem is in the public domain. (Source).

Know that the anthology is coming along – I only have the pages of four more contributors to lay out. Then, I’ll do some organization of the book, itself. We go on vacation on February 1st, and I’d like it to be at the editor while I am gone. At this time, that is my goal.

For those of you who contributed your work and time to this project, I am eternally grateful.

Have a good week!

You can still catch me on Medium.com where I write daily. Thanks!