My Pal Johnny

A poem inspired by a strong feeling of loss

I remember when johnny and me

Were wee little boys

A perfect day consisted of a strawberry soda

And a sand box full of toys

 

So many summers spent together

How quickly time did pass

Eventually we grew apart as friends so often do

The widening gulf between us was growing oh so fast

 

Still we kept in touch

Calls a few times a year

Until I went to college

And Johnny, he stayed here

 

I hadn’t talked to Johnny

In half a coon’s age

Then in this mornings paper

His face on the front page

 

“Another Young Life Wasted”

Is what the headline read

“a senseless act of violence”

My friend, my Johnny �" Dead

 

As I read the article

A home invasion gone bad

I thought back on my memories

Of all the fun we had

 

Tears slid down my cheeks

But it made so little sense

How a friend I hadn’t seen in years

Created feelings of loss so intense

 

I guess it doesn’t matter

If seen often or maybe never

Regardless of the roads we take

A friend is a friend forever.

Reviews

[Cicera]

Actually life itself is eternal! OK, some might say that life, the universe, just as it had a beginning must have an end. But that is only books talk, and even that is only in theory. Our experience of reality is very much different than what the wisemen say. We never really catch the meaning of time as it really should be. We only somewhat believe that we came to this world after a long time when we never existed. I mean, what differene is there between that time and today? Does the fact that you didn't live then but that now you do reduce your value as a human being? And if oneday your life comes to an end, will your existence cease to matter? Will the love, friendship and fraternity just die?

Your poem not just invited me to ponder on these issues. I feel the sadness you here wrote about intensely. It is one of the things that we most dread but usually we don't think about frequently. To remember a friend so vividly and under such circumstances is a hard thing to endure. Nevertheless, it is also one of the finest lessons that one may take in life, and combine it with other facts he already had known.

[Robert Haigh]

A sad and touching tribute to a departed friend. I also lost a family friend called Jonny (Jonathan) a couple of months ago. He died of cancer, aged just 36. So sad, but we have to cope with such things as best we can. Thanks for sharing.