Best Friends

For Florrie

I no longer believe in ‘best friends.’

Instead, ‘good friends’ abound

And surround us; a circle, far stronger

Than a speck, if less special. 

We’ve outgrown exclusivity and

Matching bangles. Tangled as 

Our stories are, those chapters are in the 

Past and have been for some time. 

Time, no tolerance for nostalgia,

Drives her bulldozer over what we

Thought was just on Pause, waiting

For the day we’d press Play. 

The least we can do now is notice 

That it’s missing, each irregular coffee date

A memorial to what we were, what stood before

A desperate attempt to prise open the door

But it’s locked. At least we knocked.

One more time, for old time’s sake?

I no longer believe in ‘best friends,’

(But if I did, you’d still be mine).