Friendship Politics

Step One:
Find people you can talk to,
Hang out with,
 Common interests, perhaps.
Where you feel you fit in.

Step Two:
Falling out,
The bitching and back-stabbing.
Come out of that with your conscience
Unscathed.

Step Three:
Find those you
Trust,
Who'll keep your secrets and
Be there for you.

It's a lot more complicated than that
At the time.
But, in the end, all that matters is
"I like you,
I don't like you."

Adaptability

We adapt so easily.

New environments and routines
Become the norm so quickly.
We adjust to the change,
Settling in.
Modern technologies are
Assimilated into our lives
Such that we can barely
Remember life before.
What did we do previously?

I guess this is how we've survived
For so long
Where other species have not.
Our adaptability
Is our greatest strength.

So why is it so hard to change what people think?

Why is there that initial resistance?
The transitional period where
Pioneers and the forward-thinking
Are mocked and dismissed
As renegades and madmen.

So many cases across our history.
So many once-common beliefs
Now alien to the majority.
So many condemned as heretics
Only to be revered as martyrs
In generations to come.

Here's hoping we learn.
Change.

"Don't Forget Me"

We're doing well so far.
The weekly emails -
Sharing those funny little moments,
Laughing at this brand new world.
Talking to you face to pixelated face.
Not the same as being with you.
But it'll do -
It's only 8 weeks at a time.

I know you weren't being completely serious
When you wrote that.
I guess we thought there was a risk:
I would find someone else
To share my secrets with.
But I don't think we realised
Just how much it was possible
To miss someone
And just how much you mean to me.

I'll always be there for you.
New friends here
But there's no one quite like you;
No one who sees my flaws
Without having to be shown.

How could I?
When I think of you every day,
For one reason or another -
See a photo,
Hear a song,
Just want a hug.
When you're the one who gives me the confidence
To be me.
My life, not theirs.

Oh, as if I could!

The Things You Remember

It's not the checklist of tourist attractions.
It's reaching your hand out
And touching where the ancients created.
Or knowing that the view in front of you
Is one that inspired artists and dreamers.

It's not the work you studied.
It's the song your friends listened to that lesson
Whose lyrics you didn't quite get.
Or how it felt to be top of the class
With that smile creeping onto your face.

It's not the view from the peak.
It's the panic then relief
When your dog fell in water then scrambled out.
Or the fantasy worlds created
And games played with your brother.

It's not random trivia about friends' likes and dislikes.
It's the way their laughter was contagious
And made you feel so good!
Or the running jokes
That no-one can remember starting.

It's the little things.
How you felt, not what you did.
And isn't that such a cliché?

Coming Out

I'm proud of who I am.
I've accepted every part of me:
The geek,
The socially awkward,
Who I could fall in love with.

I'm not out of the closet
Yet.
I'm not ashamed,
I know this is who I am.
I'm just not sure anyone needs to know.
Is it any of their business?
But it feels weird,
Keeping this secret.
Especially from those closest to me.

They'll be fine, I'm sure.
I've been subconsciously hinting for the last two years -
Choice of TV shows,
Favourite characters,
Opinions in debates.

But what if they're not?
No, I don't think that.
I know they'll accept me.

It's the actual telling.
Some details are obvious -
Wait until we're face to face.
"Sit down,
I need to talk to you."
But then what?
Come straight out with it?
Ramble about nerves?
Tell the story of how I realised?
So much fuss.

Once that's over with
I don't need to tell anybody
Until I find someone.
It's none of their business.
But I won't deny it.

I don't make it obvious.
It doesn't mean I'm not proud.