By Macaulay Babajide Milton
Familiarity breeds contempt they say
But if we are so familiar, why the mindless fray?
Perhaps, the more knowledge we gather about the other
The more our minds wander
What could have happened to my friend? We ponder
We expect too much but end up receiving so little
We perceive more flaws than there is; steaming like
a boiling kettle
Drawing impulsive conclusions with our limited
senses
To justify the reasons for erecting high fences
We fail to remember that our friend is a human
And unlike robots, He is an emotional being
This makes Him to be equally loving and mean
He may strike when pushed to the wall
But won’t hesitate to catch you when you fall
It seems the friendlier we get, the more vulnerable
we become
The full access provided makes friends take us for
granted
So why are they often shocked at our immediate
reaction
Pretending to be completely oblivious of what
triggered such actions
Stimulating ceaseless sympathy from the emotional
veins of bystanders
With the hope of finally paralysing the friend-turned-offender
There is a thin line between love and hate
And sadly, friends are usually the unexpected baits
Some know so much, therefore, know how best to hurt
us
Others know so little, yet, feel they can judge us
We are envied for remaining on our feet in the midst
of turbulence
Sometimes referred to as arrogant for rejecting
every form of insolence
New tactics are then employed for gravity to bring
us to our knees
One moment we are friends, the next moment we are enemies!
When strangers hurt us it’s no big deal
But when a friend does, it’s all we feel
Like our hearts have been ripped open
And our dignity stolen
Familiarity is said to begat it
But friendship can’t be formed without it
All Friends are prone to envy
And envy’s a silent enemy
They strike when you least expect
And sadly, the culprit you’ll least suspect
Philosophers would say, ‘keep your friends close but
your enemies closer’
For me the reverse is the case because friends may
be deadlier
That they love us doesn’t mean they can’t hurt us
Deliberate hurts we need to be aware of
Bad advice, even good friends may offer
Cherish their efforts but don’t be a stickler
Digest not their words – hook, line and sinker
For an alternative approach may turn out to be healthier
Truly, familiarity may produce scorn
But also forms the bedrock that creates trust
The person in question is what matters
So beware of hasty flatterers
Better is an honest rebuke than poisonous love
Better are friends who change our lives with bitter
truths
Than friends who mess up our lives with sweet lies
However, friends are needed to brighten our day
Tap us on the back and tell us, ‘all will be okay’
Though we risk being vulnerable
In our weakness lies the strength that makes us capable
How then should we handle our friends?
How far can we go without them?
Since we lack the futuristic vision to perceive a
potential foe
How best do we protect ourselves from head to toe?
Man is a gregarious animal
Needing one another is the key to survival
We are heavily flawed to succeed alone
Even a king needs advisors to preserve his throne
On the shoulders of others, we stand to reach the
sky
A nudge from a true friend, is all we need to fly
We live in a cruel world where everybody wants to be
the first
Ineluctably, we will always need somebody we can trust
The first person you embrace might be the first to
betray you
Yet, running a solitary race might quickly burn out
the oil that should sustain you
We may decide to be unpredictable to our friends
To fool them into thinking they know our weaknesses
and strengths
Just in case they try to turn against us smartly
They see another side of us which isn’t friendly!
There’s no need to keep a battalion of them
For quality is the determining factor of adorable
gems
Despite our imperfections they continue to stick
around
Understanding that when under pressure our
weaknesses scream aloud
They say friendships are often broken due to familiarity
But I will say the ‘accused’ should be laxity
Valuable substances are wasted due to availability
Therefore, preserve your worth by adopting timely scarcity
Friends may not share the same mother
But the support lavished, is greater than a father’s
Their volatile nature might make us accidental
targets
All the same, give them a warm hug for we too are
not perfect
