Best Friend

Although you were younger and smaller, it was me who looked up

I still do, with an endless love and respect

When I had nothing to fill, you gave me the cup

Believed in me, despite marks, I’ve overstepped

Gave me chances, made me know I could cope

Stuck by me, had my back, and gave me hope

You taught me survival, and the importance of trust

How, without it, friendship would turn into dust

Then you outgrew me, in size but not as friends

That was a done deal, connected till the end

You chose a path, that I didn’t want to follow

If I’d stopped you, would l feel this sorrow?

Everyday, we spent together, was an adventure

From making dens, hustling for money, getting into trouble

Escorted home, by police, to another lengthy lecture

Known by all, as Woz and Nick, the crazy couple

Banned from seeing one another, who led who astray?

We just sneaked out to meet, there was always a way

Even when you were moved, to the school for naughty kids

We wrote to each other, and waited for end of term times

I’d wait opposite your house, our secret whistle from my lips

You changed, you understood your path, would be different to mine

Told me I was better, a criminal life was not for me to take

Insisted, I didn’t come, when you went off on the make

You were in and out of prison, but our closeness never changed

If anything it got stronger, we relied on what we’d built

Any girl who tried to come between us, ended up estranged

We put each other first, and for that we felt no guilt

When you had daughters, I went to the hospital at your side

I remember your face, just beaming and sparking with pride

You taught me about respect, to receive it, you have to give

I learnt to stand up for myself, and if right, have no fear of loss

I have taught my son the same, it’s a decent way to live

Although you were a villain, it’s a path you never let me cross

It’s almost as if, you lived some of your life through me

And I through you, and that’s the way it was meant to be

When you gave up crime, and started giving back, you were at your best

A family man, always busy, helping others, but with you no one would mess

Always, with a naughty side, you had to battle with your demons

Trying to work out, life and all of its unpredictable meanings

When your partner left, and took your life and kids

Drugs were a perfect out, a new chapter on the skids

You always knew you’d die young, you said it’s written in the stars

And that it would be before you were 40, and maybe not that far

I’m sorry I was not around then, but I doubt you would have heard

It’s as if you’d given up, and living now was just so absurd

I understand your need, to make all your pain go away

I feel it, when I think about you every single day

You always said, that I should respect other people’s decisions

That human beings, are all the same, despite opposing opinions

There are not enough words, to describe to you how I feel

About my best friend, my life, a Beautiful Being, So Amazing, So Real

If I could be one tenth, of the person and the soul you still are

I’d be happy to know, that I was on the path, and that I’d got that far.