A Vanished Friend

Around the corner I have a friend
In this great city that has no end.
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.
And I never see my old friend's face,
For life is a swift and terrible race.

He knows I like him just as well
As in the days when I rang his bell,
And he rang mine.
We were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
"Just to show that I'm thinking of him."

But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner!- yet miles away,

Here's a telegram sir-
"Jim died today."
And that's what we get and deserve in the end.
Around the corner, a vanished friend.

(Henson Towne)