True Friend

Friends
Always
In
The
Heart

As a child I just wanted a friend
A strong one who would have my back

A generous companion, who would comfort me in my lack

All I needed was one to understand;
A gentle touch, not ashamed to hold my hand

A loving soul to catch my tears inside a jar
A wise one who'd pull me back to centre,
When I went too far

A whisper and a silence when I'm frightened and alone
A defender like a lion, when I'm attacked by carnal clones

A friend to whom I'd share aloud the craziest of ideas
One who'd let me learn and grow, and not condemn throughout the years

A laughing soul, who'd celebrate my joys;
And join me in the party, when I dance and make some noise

A friend who wouldn't shut me down or deny our special bond
But I soon worked out that to expect a friend, like that, was "wrong"

Muhammad didn't like my music
And Buddha's laugh was dark and cold
Zoroaster's light had faded now
And Lao Tzu oh too old

And so I froze like arctic ice and distilled a bitter flavour;
And gave up my pursuit for that faithful brother,
‘Til I learned about the Saviour

There was a time I cut my hand with glass, and shook it in a pact
But this mystery of a godlike man went way way way beyond that

Not only did he shed his blood from crown, sides, hands, and feet; he offered me his flesh and blood, saying, "Here, take and eat!"

And he poured his Holy Spirit, deep into my empty cup

Said, "Gulp as much as you can hold; go on, drink it up!"

No human gone done that before,
For a poor soul such as me
But sure as he came to my cry, he's never since left me

And I have been a sordid mate, quite difficult to get along
Yet his friendship has been true and pure:
A love that's made me strong

I don't know how else I would have coped, the times I've been to hell and back
I can't fathom how, despite the pain, my heart is still intact

Unless of course Jesus is real and this is not pretend
Surely, I have found in him an everlasting friend