A Friend Like You

I’d like to have a friend like you,
someone who’s kind and always true,
whose gentle spirit conveys concern,
someone from whom I can readily learn
the way life should be lived.

I’d like to hear what you have to say
about a just and honest way
to overcome the hate and strife
that seem to be the rule of life
in these confusing times.

Do you honor a hope for the days to come?
Do you think we’ll ever be able to plumb
the depths of injustice and human greed,
to speak to the causes of human need
that infect our culture’s health?

We seem afraid to confront the fools
whose shallow minds and selfish rules
hold in contempt the rule of law
who laugh at mercy as a moral flaw
while filling their pockets full.

What has become of the principled man
who stood his ground, devised a plan
to address not the symptoms but the root and core
of insidious actions that open the door
to misery and human despair.

Yes, I’d like to have a friend like you,
someone to show me how to get through
the grave disappointments I find everyday
in those who belittle and work to betray
the values that charted our course.