The Woe That Is in Friendship

[MoonyLuna]

In the sudden silence of his phone
he knew that something was wrong,
not in general but with him, him.
He was born with the knowledge of his own problems,
but not the tools to solve them completely.
They wanted to tell him, then didn't, wisely—
his friends of so many years—not that he blamed them.
How awkward they must have felt in the smoke
of the steak and chicken their last time over.
How free they were that autumn to sit alone
on their separate porches and stare at the trees.
Watch the leaves fall to the ground like unmailed letters.
Sail like clouds into the clean, ecstatic future.


copyright
Chard DeNiord

[MoonyLuna]

Featured Poet
Chard DeNiord


Chard DeNiord is the author of three books of poetry, most recently Night Mowing (Pittsburgh, 2005). His poems and essays have appeared in American Poetry Review, Ploughshares, The Southern Review, and elsewhere. He is an associate professor at Providence College and lives in Putney, Vermont.