Who Is Your Friend? Poem by Chris Jibero

At a peaceful park
Pleasant and airy
I overheard
A seemingly comfortable man
Who looked shortchanged
And angry
Tell another
One likely in his social class
Presumably a friend of his
That assisting an envious friend
The father of ingrates
Is worse than kissing a toad
Residing in a grimy gutter
For a new enemy
Deadlier than a potent poison
Is unwittingly made
Especially if he is one
With whom you were born and bred
In the same milieu
And are of the same age
Who you have been lifted above
Byprovidence
But still has the privilege
To dine and wine on your exalted table
He is like subtle ocean waves
Eroding the shores of your life
Without your notice
Mustering strength
To deal you a sucker punch

Were it possible
For Julius Caesar and Thomas Sankara
To make a brief reappearance on this stage
They would sternly caution men
Against the likes of Brutus and Blasé
Children of envy and greed
Whose grandfather is Judas Iscariot
A lineage of doom planters
Therefore, throw not the door of your heart
Ajar to a friend
No matter how loving he seems to be
For there is a dagger deposited
For the soul in love turned sour
Display not your treasure to a friend
Irrespective of how happy he appears
For your achievement
For the smile on his face could be
The camouflage of the venom in his dirty heart
And take not your friend into your bedroom
Despite how dear he is to you
For it is like committing harakiri
In a packed Olympic size stadium
And eat with only a friend whose hands
Are cleanly washed
In broad daylight or under a floodlight
And never in darkness answer
A friend’s call for help
In spite of how desperate he might sound
For that may be his snare to sell you
To your enemies
With whom he plays in the same league
And do carefully listen to your wife
Whenever she sounds an alarm
About a friend of yours you love so much
Cos women have a third eye
That sees beyond the ordinary
A spiritual gift lacking in most men.

(c) Chris Jibero. 2011.