Friends and Mirrors

A friend, it is said, is a mirror in which one sees oneself.:

external, internal and the projected images.
This mirror is an unobtrusive wall 

between the two in the beginning. 

If the friends are meant to be bonded for life,

the wall breaks away noiselessly, leaving

no trace; sort of melts away; two souls

get inseparable, the I and the you just cease to be.

Your parents and my parents become
our parents, your house and my house

our house, your pleasures and my pleasures 
our pleasures, your pains and my pains our pains,
your life and my life merge into our lives.

Between others, in course of time, the mirror 
gets smeared on either side with impressions 
each forms of the other, acting like the silver coating 
on reflective mirrors, the quality of the smearing  
determining the quality of the reflection. 

Empathy, coupled with a cool acceptance

of each others' flaws, coated on the mirror yields a happy,
confidence-enhancing  reflection, fostering easy bonding. 

When the mirror is smeared with 
misunderstanding, or rivalry,
it yields  a horrid, scary reflection;

revolting,  imperiling bonding.

Better not let the mirror become a reflective one,
best allow it to melt away, bringing in real gelling:
where friends grow unaware and unmindful of differences
complement and empower each other.

If friendships pose threats to 
well being and stability,
 frequently flashing  ruinous reflections
tarnishing self esteem,suspect distortion,
Validate  promptly, like a sensible being.

Gracefully retreat, seek refuge 
till true friends find their way to you.
No point saving any tie at the cost of the self.

Picture courtesy: http://creativewriting.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Liberation-by-visionart.jpg

Walk Away

Alone, gradually disappearing into the foggy future,

you evoke fathomless pain in my mortally wounded soul.
Tongue-tied and completely helpless,

I watch from behind the bars of my cage.

Why did you bring this on yourself and involve me in it?

Why did you choose to walk away alone?

I envision dark alleys where you will fumble and fall

but you leave me chained in my cage and walk away,

discarding the keys you perchance got possession of.

I do not  break the chains and run after you.

I would have grown wings and flown out 
through the bars of my cage

if I knew you would stop, turn around, and 

take me in your arms.

Watching you staggering away 

I stay back in induced silence, smothering anguish,

hoping you would come back
when memories help you recognize

my fidelity and steadfast devotion.

I wonder why with you memories do not work
the way it works with me: revitalizing and sustaining.

Sometimes I wonder if you have memories at all.

The concept of selective memory baffles me.

Curious how people seem to suppress memory

and live, creating a reality of their own, 
disjointed with the past.

Amazing how memory succumbs and stays recessive,

playing a game of chess with conscience 
while their deceptive hosts play farces.

You cast your eyes off when you know 
a sign could give me hope you would fail to fulfill.
At unguarded moments I see the tender longing 
you try the best not to let me notice.
I rely on my impression of you and await a reunion.


Picture courtesy:  http://creativewriting.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/lightwalk-in-october_thumb1.jpg