To all my true friends

True friendship means to always
Be elated and jubilant
When your friend
Is in a state of happiness
Or feel somber and heartbroken
If your pal is befallen
By tragedy and sadness

Close companions are a pair
Having much in common
In the world of the material
And the orb of the spiritual
With no constraints or strings attached
Where the obligations of friendship
Take precedence above all else
A deep fellowship
Soul-mates, divinely matched

A friend is a reflection of his buddy
Anywhere he comes or goes
Like looking in a shiny mirror
Seeing your good qualities or flaws

Lasting friendships can be gained
Grow and flourish
Upon noble traits
Love, generosity, patience
Respect, trust, and loyalty
Protecting each other, talking straight

A true friend doesn’t
Demand or just take
Rather an avid giver
Like bountiful streams
Flowing freely one way
Gushing majestically in a bubbly river

Sincere friends are unselfish
Don’t vie, rival or struggle
With each other
Rather willing to sacrifice the cherished
For the comfort and bliss
Of his brother

Real friends don’t willingly
Insult each other,
Upset, agitate or offend
Nor do they lie
Deceive or betray
Since on each other
They must depend

A jealous friend can’t
Be genuine or true
But rather a hidden foe
While you’re the first
To help him out
He hastens to cause you harm
And deliver the first blow

A caring friend is one
Offering constructive critique
But always face to face
Yet upon giving sincere advice
She offers it gently, in confidence
Not demanding its acceptance
But showing concern and grace

A generous friend doesn’t
Expect payback
For her favors or gifts
Finding in her heart
All excuses and good reasons
For any mix-ups or rifts

People are of seven types
Whether in assigning blame
Or exalting you with lavish praise
But only one kind
Shows true friendship
While the rest is fake
Strolling in a dark maze

The first showers you with accolade
In your presence or absence
A flatterer and opportunist
Despite what he’s said
The second disparages you
In your presence
Glorifies you in absence
Nothing but a fool and a knucklehead

A third commends you
In your presence
Denounces you in your absence
A slanderer and a hypocrite
While a fourth says nothing
In your presence
Though attacks you in your absence,
Perhaps not a hypocrite
But still a slanderer and wicked

As for the one that
Fervently likes to assail you
In both presence and absence
Is indeed hateful and arrogant
Yet a person who says nothing
Whether in your presence or absence
Is either a coward or ignorant
But the one who doesn’t sing your praises
Or condemn you in presence
Yet, in your absence ready to commend you
Against any attacks to defend you
Is your worthy friend and confidant

Life has perhaps bestowed
Upon you many blessings
If you’d simply
Look back and recall
But a true lasting friendship
Maybe the best bounty
And greatest blessings of all

If you’ve got such a friend
Be content
Show appreciation
And pay him or her a tribute
You’ve been blessed
Praise the Lord
Offer Him thanks
A sincere, heartfelt gratitude

*Inspired by Imam Ibn Hazm Al-Andalusi (994-1064 AD),
the great teacher of wisdom and virtue