A Common Farewell

When all is said and done, the greatest failure is the loss of a friend.
Someone you cared for, someone you liked.
Gone, just passed on like a ghost, never again materializing,
but there to haunt you with the question, "Why?"
There's no certainty, sometimes, just a sinking suspicion that
things are out of whack.
Someone reliable starts getting flaky.
Someone friendly grows distant.
That is as great to me as a loss of love.
Unwritten on a tombstone,
not mentioned in our eulogies,
but nevertheless they are the cores of our lives.
Some we know for years, others for months, others for less.
What will happen when our worlds cease to collide?
Sadder because nothing can replace you.
Gladder because someone else can try.