Friends

It is a strange concept, friendship.
Spend the evening gossiping,
I mean in earnest discussion,
With friends I have known a quarter of a century.
They watched me grow up, marry and raise children.
They know my history and I know theirs.
Enjoyed the others company and had sympathy for each other.
And this a friendship.
There's the 'Mummies' I socialize with.
Kids the same ages.
Lots of things in common,
And we have shared much
The amusing, entertaining and life shatteringly sad.
And these are friends too.
But what is the measure of friendship?
The genuine distress you feel when a friend is hurting.
And the strong desire to fix it and make it better for them.