The Blind friend

Friends will come and friends will go, and life takes them away
And sometimes we are enemies, or strangers day to day
But one there was who never failed, was always at my side
Endured my wrath and selfishness, and soon forgave my pride

A golden friend with lashing tail and swollen fun-filled heart
Would follow me through anything and never want to part
On mountainside and riverbed through rapefields and thick snow
Or simply resting at my feet in garden fire's glow

Who's look was joy, and tail was truth and fangs were made to smile
Who's one desire was pleasing me and wandering a while
And yet for all the love he gave, his worth I failed to see
With ignorance and indifference, I dismissed him clumsily

And on one sunny afternoon, as I angered through the day
I learned that his old furry body was finally in decay
And then I knew that licks and wags and bounds of joy for me
Were given even though he fought to keep his pain at ease

What friend I lost, what truth I found, that tore my heart in two
What angry soul I seethed at me, for finally I knew
That I had squandered treasure, a companion rare indeed
Had never given the simple thing, the love he asked of me

If I could wrench him back from death and give him one good year
I would treat him like a prince and fill his life with cheer
And would lavish him with ball and bone and cuddles from my soul
To let him know how dear he was, and how I miss him so

This gentle creature who enriched my life, and showed me how to smile
Who warmed my cold and selfish heart and waited through my trials
Who never wandered far from me, and waited round the bend
Was surely a friend the like of which will never come again

That Faithful soul who worshipped me and always sought to please
Has left me shamed and in agony, and become a willow tree
And yet I know that had he lived, my friend would still forgive
But never will I forgive myself, for as long as I shall live

But there is one thing I can do, one change I can now make
To stop this madness and tend to loves, and heal the hearts I break
For it is now a time for me to change and set me free
From wrath and pain, to embrace love, it is Willow's gift to me{/size