Who sticks closer than blood is friend

A friend that fishes for his selfish good, He who flatters and placates but to please, His sweet words venom under a veiled hood, He, whose hiss disguises as pleasant breeze. One not found when his friend’s lost in a wood, Who deserts ship in need of renewed lease. There too are friends like a pair of spare hands— Friends that back up in times of utter strain, In tricky turns of fate stick together, And stretch a helping hand, pleasure or pain, Whose counsel’s harsh but works like smooth feather, Whose words pain, pierce like knife, prove sane. Friends come in all shades of a rainbow band, Yet, he that sticks closer than blood is friend. ___________________________________________ Sonnets | 05.03.2004| friend Poet’s note: An atypical sonnet with two sestets posing a premise and a counterpoint, ending with a couplet.