Around the Corner

I loved this poem in college, and it seems appropriate now as I contemplate my last Saturday in New York and need to remind myself to stop and smell the roses. Let's see if I can deliver this straight from memory:

Around the corner I have a friend
In this great city that has no end
Yet the days go by and the weeks rush on,
And before I know it a year has gone.

And I never see my old friend's face
For life is a swift and terrible race.
He knows I like him just as well
As in the days when I rang his bell.

And he rang mine, if
We were younger then
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game
Tired of trying to make a name.

Tomorrow, I say, I will call on Jim
Just to show that I'm thinking of him.
But tomorrow comes, and tomorrow goes
And the distance between us grows and grows.

Around the corner - yet miles away
"Here's a telegram, Sir, Jim died today."
And that's what we get and deserve in the end
Around the corner, a vanished friend.
- Henson Towne

Okay, I cheated. Had to look it up after two versus. On the bottom of that original anonymous email that was forwarded to me in 1996, was more sage advice:

Remember to always say what you mean. If you love someone, tell them. Don't be afraid to express yourself. Reach out and tell someone what they mean to you. Because when you decide that it is the right time, it might be too late. Seize the day. Never have regrets. And most importantly, stay close to your friends and family, for they have helped make you the person that you are today.