Down the road, around the bend
Lived a man who was my friend...
He had no wife or other kin,
how lonely this man must have been!
A squeaky porch swing where he sat
swayed back and forth as he stroked
his cat.
Each day I’d pass and wave and
smile, but had no time to stay a while.
Important duties beckoned me,
I had things to do and people to see.
“I’ll visit soon,” I called to my friend
As on I hurried ‘round the bend.
"I’ll surely do it,” I averred,
"I’ll surely do it,” I averred,
I’ll stop and visit – keep my word!
We’ll talk and laugh and have a drink
It’s nice to have a friend, I think.
But Time waits for no one – it hurries past
and promises made seldom last.
The news came early by way of phone
My friend had died – all alone.
My heart beat faster when I heard
My heart beat faster when I heard
“If only I had kept my word.”
And now, I visit where he sat, swing
back and forth and stroke his cat.
©2016 Peggy Toney Horton~
