Missing Friends (for Vansen, Phousse, Wang, and Pags, and other friends we miss) Every morning we awake to our daily routine. We give our thanks that we're still alive to see them another day. But the beauty of life is marred With the constant thoughts of them. Alone we sit and drift in the sea of space. Hoping, dreaming, wishing, wanting them around again Knowing that these memories may be the only things to give them life. We stay strong in front of others, but alone our feelings show. Too much time and a universe worth of memories separate us. But when we lay our heads down to rest, and feel a new day dawning, They are all here with us again.... The warmth of their laughter and cheer, And the loneliness we've felt since then. The poker games, the chiggy foosball, That we never got a chance to play. The lives and dreams that they had yet to experience, Were taken away and gone in an instant. We never got to say good-bye. We were changed in one short day. The future that looked so bright for the first time in a while, Was ripped from us all too quickly. We are grateful when the day comes to an end, For now our only friend has become the night When we can sleep and dream of our fallen friends. © Jessica Fry 1998 Return to General Fiction