When Closeness Matters Most

A philosophical piece that discusses the why of why it is said to keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer ...

When Closeness Matters Most

Written By Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn de Graham

Copyright © 2022 Marvin Thomas Cox

DBA: Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn de Graham

All Rights Reserved

Why would the wisdom of the sages

teach us to keep our friends close,

and our enemies even closer?

What possible sanity's reason

could there be for keeping enemies

in close proximity's easy reach?

“Tis in fact a valid question

well worth pondering,

as the answer may not be

overly apparent to those naive,

or, ignorantly, simple minded:

One should always keep his friends close

in order to evaluate and, thus, insure

that they truly are friends,

friends trustworthy and loyal,

taking careful note's notice

of all they do and say

in friendly cognizant and astute fashion

of eyes of one's mind's eye wide open

to any and all possible threats.

Threats aptly discerned as ascertained

are often revealed within revelations

given way momentarily by the eyes,

eyes which of friendship do deny,

eyes that that declare to speak otherwise.

and just as importantly tantamount

are words seemingly innocently spoken,

words plied cunningly to ambush and attack,

or to deceivingly set one's mind at ease,

given way by inflections of undercurrent,

as literal rip tides of tone and pursing lips,

as the threat grows ever more ominous.

For the wisdom of the sages is this:

Should it become necessary, in time,

to eliminate, eradicate any given enemy,

the very closeness such an enemy sought,

shall surely become that enemy's undoing ...

(September 1^st, 2022)