2019.01.19 00:25
By Edgar 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.
Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/old-friends-by-edgar-guest
No. | Subject | Date | Author | Last Update | Views |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notice | How to write your comments onto a webpage [2] | 2016.07.06 | 운영자 | 2016.11.20 | 18194 |
Notice | How to Upload Pictures in webpages | 2016.07.06 | 운영자 | 2018.10.19 | 32376 |
Notice | How to use Rich Text Editor [3] | 2016.06.28 | 운영자 | 2018.10.19 | 5929 |
Notice | How to Write a Webpage | 2016.06.28 | 운영자 | 2020.12.23 | 43843 |
340 | 시간과 우리의 인생 [11] | 2012.11.17 | 이한중*65 | 2012.11.17 | 4188 |
339 | [poem] 첫 눈 [15] | 2012.11.25 | 이한중*65 | 2012.11.25 | 5500 |
338 | [詩] 할아버지 [11] | 2012.12.03 | 서윤석*68 | 2012.12.03 | 5201 |
337 | 진달래 꽃- 각 도별 사투리 [10] | 2012.12.10 | 홍초미#65 | 2012.12.10 | 4888 |
336 | [詩] 한강 [5] | 2013.01.05 | 서윤석*68 | 2013.01.05 | 9972 |
335 | [Poem] Thy Kingdom Come [5] | 2013.01.06 | 이한중*65 | 2013.01.06 | 4746 |
334 | "장질부사"의 추억 [5] | 2013.01.14 | 민경탁*65 | 2013.01.14 | 5844 |
333 | [poem] I Keep On Walking [2] | 2013.02.07 | 이한중*65 | 2013.02.07 | 4308 |
332 | [Poem] 그 누구의 선물들 [4] | 2013.02.13 | 이한중*65 | 2013.02.13 | 5444 |
331 | 산은 구름을 탓하지 않는다 [2] | 2013.02.14 | 김이영*66 | 2013.02.14 | 4257 |
330 | 멀리 사는 친구야/장남제 [3] | 2013.03.10 | 조승자 | 2013.03.10 | 4302 |
329 | [poem] 토요일 아침 [3] | 2013.03.16 | 이한중*65 | 2013.03.16 | 5614 |
328 | [Poem] 봄은 왔는데 [6] | 2013.05.10 | 이한중*65 | 2013.05.10 | 4557 |
327 | 국군은 죽어서 말한다--우리 형제는 그때 그곳에 있었다 [3] | 2013.06.01 | 김이영*66 | 2013.06.01 | 3913 |
326 | [Poem] I've Been Away A While / 이한중 | 2013.07.25 | 이한중*65 | 2013.07.25 | 4221 |
325 | [Poem] Did You Know? [2] | 2013.08.10 | 이한중*65 | 2013.08.10 | 3838 |
324 | [Poem] 9 월 / 오세영 [6] | 2013.09.11 | 이한중*65 | 2013.09.11 | 4843 |
323 | [Poem] The Autumn [7] | 2013.10.12 | 이한중*65 | 2013.10.12 | 4450 |
322 | [시낭송] 별 헤는 밤 - 시 윤동주 [10] | 2013.10.23 | 운영자 | 2013.10.23 | 3947 |
321 | 너 (친구) / 이해인 [10] | 2013.11.15 | 홍초미#65 | 2013.11.15 | 2833 |
On top of the morning in mid- January when
the headline news is 2000 flight cancellations in the east
and Midwest due to the arctic weather and snow,
I felt like dedicating a good old poem to all the good old friends
and acquaintances.
Indeed it is so true that a good old friend for the super seniors like me
is such a rare, precious, vanishing commodity that
I couldn't have agreed more with what this old, bygone, poet had to say.
Old friends, as Thomas Merton once said,
"Courage comes and goes; hold on for the next supply."