The Ones Who Stay

Some of them moved.
And of course, I moved.
at times, physically.
Some fell to lies, both the ones told
and the ones told to themselves.
Some simply wandered different paths
and one or the other of us got lost.

Some fell. Some were devoured by demons.
A few were too dangerous to keep around.
Others faded away like a morning fog. Disappeared.
Gone.
Some found me unbearable. I get that. Some days
I feel the same way.

I used to mourn. I did. Deeply and far too often.
But age has its benefits. I get it now.
People come and go. And go.
And it has far less to do with me than I once believed.
People come and go,
and you treasure them all, but most of all
you treasure the ones who stay.

About this poem

Feeling very grateful today for the ones who stayed.

Tom