Those who lack enemies are oppressed by friends  Niccolo Machiavelli

By Mutryce A. Williams BBA CTM

Hello friend, my fair weather, sunny weather friend,

Hello friend, my supportive, encouraging, smiling friend,

Batman and Robin friend, true blue friend,

How saddening though friend that as I stand before you,

As if looking through a mirror,

Dagger logged in my heart, bleeding profusely,

Blaming enemies and foreign oppressors, for trying to cause tumult about me,

Not knowing that it was YOU,

And I questioned why was there this tumult about me,

Not knowing that it was created secretly by you my Judas friend,

You rallying the troops,

My genius friend, my Judas friend, show me your reward friend,

The thirty pieces of silver they paid you friend,

Yet you kissed me on the cheek,

So unassuming friend,

And you stand before me grinning like a Cheshire cat,

Thinking that your little ploy is still working,

Thinking that you are indeed EINSTEIN

How could you live with yourself friend?

You wore your guise well my friend, but Oscar has nothing on you,

OH NO!!

Your performance was STELLAR my friend,

You supped at my table, you have celebrated in my joys or so I thought,

Your votes of confidence,

Were they really that?

Or hey go fall on your face man,

You even cried with me, comforted me or so I thought,

Not realizing that all these YEARS you were indeed an ASSASSIN friend,

A malignant cancer, a cancer to my soul,

How could you my darling friend?

Do what you have done friend?

Take my kindness for weakness friend,

And abuse a treasured trust,

Your motive, I would like to know friend,

Oh dear envious friend, my Hitler friend, pretentious friend,

My selfish friend consumed by nothing but greed friend, why me friend?

I am so sorry friend; your cover has been blown,

Or havent you realized it yet friend?

I guess you were not as smart as you thought friend,

Or maybe I wasnt as stupid as YOU thought friend,

For me to continue looking you in the eye and smiling with you,

Knowing now what I know,

That your heart bleeds black and not red when you see me,

Is an abomination to my soul,

Is TOTALLY evil and hypocritical,

I have gained wings friend, no time for games friend

I can feel the wind, there I go soaring, goodbye friend,

The ride stops here,

For I CAN no longer remain your friend, knowing your intentions,

Which is total annihilation of my being,

Your pay off or fix, I am puzzled friend,

The years, my loyalty, tell me they meant nothing friend,

To think that maybe my simple acts of kindness over the YEARS would have changed you friend,

Give me several enemies any day than a FRIEND like you friend,

For I have come to realize that Machiavelli is indeed correct,

Those who THINK they lack enemies are silently OPPRESSED by friends!

I hate getting older! With age and the years comes experience. With experience, more and more, one has to face reality and sometimes reality is indeed painful. One has to make decisions, difficult decisions. The upside is that once one has faced reality and starts offloading the unnecessary things like oppressive friends, the journey of life gets a lot lighter and sweeter. With age one has to realize that one has to put away childish things and if those friends that we have or that we used to treasure intentionally create obstacles or cause tumult in ones life they should not be afforded the luxury that should be granted to real friends. It does not make sense to have that person around, just because. Dont get me wrong, I do not propose turning that person into an enemy but it is just that the title of friend should not be applied to that person, nothing is wrong with saying a short quick hello.

I often hear people remark that they have outgrown their friends. This is a remark that I loathe because I dont think that it is a matter of outgrowing ones friends. I think that people CHANGE. A friend of mine argued, but if you could outgrow your clothes why you cant outgrow your friends, if your shoes get too small why you going force it to fit. It would squeeze you.

I could take her analysis in another context, if you have a friend who is like a weed who is stifling you, who continuously does things that are harmful to your person time after time, with you forgiving and hoping that that person changes, then it makes no sense to continue the friendship.  Some of us are not willing to face that reality and we remain in friendships knowing as my mother says that, the person aint got no use for us.

Friendship is something that many of us hold sacred, to be betrayed by a friend or to realize that someone who one thought was a friend is not actually a friend is quite painful.  It is one of the most painful experiences that one could go through. You begin reflecting on the happy years. The immature you, wants to hold on to the past and not realize that that person you thought you knew, no longer exists. You begin to question what would motivate your true blue friend to do the things he/she does.

It is even more painful when that individual after years of causing unnecessary tumult in ones life wants to maintain that friendship because oh we have been friends for so long, wanting to pretend that nothing has happened, as if all should be forgiven AGAIN. Why should one maintain a friendship or remain friends just because? It makes no sense.

There is the saying and I think that people often abuse it, that new friends are silver but old friends are gold. This may be true but there some friends who we have known for years whom we do treasure but they are indeed no longer gold but should be down graded to rust. There are some friends who we consider silver but should be upgraded to gold. It is not how long you have known someone but rather it is the quality of the friendship. It is whether that person respects and supports you. It should be a balanced friendship.   

Friendship is indeed a beautiful and splendiferous thing. I have realized that the title or label of friend should be reserved for a select few not just to anyone. We have many friendships that we treasure. We have friendships that we swear that we will take to the grave. Some of us our friendships are so dear to us that we swear to never forsake that friend for anyone or anything. Real friends are to be treasured and there some great ones out there, but you see it hurts when you have known someone for years or for what seems like eternity only to discover that that person was indeed a camouflage and an assassin.

A true friend is rare and should be held sacred. It is important not only to have a good friend but also to be a good friend.