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