Mary Jane Hurley Brant

Friends cheer our successes in good times
and cry with us during those sad.
They always help us to realize
when we’ve been really really bad.

Friends say to me, "Hey Ms. M.J.
are you doing okay today?"
Friends - when they’re the real deal -
Can handle my infrequent nay.

Friends sometimes come early in life
and stay laughing till the sunsetting end.
My mother once told me to have that longevity
  learn how to bend again and again.

Friends know you and love you
validate and appreciate.
They hug you and kiss you
and won't ever separate.

Friends often share your virtues
and forgive your every vice.
But a real friend advises lovingly
and has once or twice saved your life.