You came to my door crying

Sadness masking your usual grace.

Tears rolling down your cheeks,

Mascara running down your face.

Your long dark hair was wild

Your once glittering eyes were bleak.

Into my willing arms you fell,

Afraid, alone and weak.

I clutched you tightly to my chest

And you rested your face against my heart.

You cried for what seemed like hours.

before you pulled yourself apart.

You stared at me with beautiful eyes

Green with the whites so red.

You asked to go inside.

You wanted to talk, you said.

We walked into the lounge room,

I went to make us some tea.

Returning with the drinks I saw

Your face buried in your knees.

I placed a mug in front of you.

You looked at me and smiled.

You quietly said your thanks

and we sipped in silence a while.

With mug empty, and tears dried, you spoke.

Your voice was soft and meek.

You told me of your partners facade;

Loving and affectionate, belying a violent streak.

You recounted how he abused you;

treated you like a punching bag.

How he hit you in places no-one could see

And how he liked to brag.g

You showed me the marks he left behind

The welts and bruises black and blue.

I sat quietly, as you told your tale;

As my anger boiled and grew.

He must be less of a man, I thought

Just a sack of bones and meat.

To harm something so innocent and pure,

So beautiful and sweet.

Your voice break off abruptly

and so again began the tears.

You told me that you hated life.

That you constantly lived in fear.

You told me about his problems.

That he only loved the *****.

You said he was a mean drunk

and his carefree attitude was nothing but a ruse.

You listed off the names he called you

and how they hurt you to the core.

You said the physical torture was painful

but the psychological abuse hurt more.

You said it had gone on for months

and you hadn’t told a soul.

That you only came to me today

Because it finally took it’s toll.

You told me you wanted it to end.

Said that life was for the fool.

You expressed your disappointment

that life had to be so cruel.

You admitted you wanted an out

To finally have some peace.

You tied a rope around your neck

and wanted the pain to cease.

You sat there for a while

Hesitant to take the final leap.

You contemplated the repercussions

of meeting with eternal sleep.

You looked at me through bleary eyes

and told me the asnwer was in your head.

Suicide was selfish you proclaimed.

The solution is talking instead.

You came to me first, you admitted

because I was the one you trusted above all.

You also noted I’d been there

and knew what is was like to fall.

But I was an inspiration.

You took courage from seeing me free.

You found it gave you the strength

To be the person you wanted to be.

I was left speechless

taken aback you felt this way.

Finally I spoke for the first time.

Asking if you needed a place to stay.

You admitted you wanted out of there,

and a hotel you dialled on your phone.

I hung up the phone on you

offering my guest bedroom as your own.

You started crying again,

and thanked me for everything.

I shook my head, and smiled

and responded friends wore more precious than a diamond ring.

I said the room was yours.

On the condition you called the police.

That he couldn’t get away with it,

and then would you finally had the peace.

You agreed to the condition

Told the local station your tale.

They brought your partner up on several charges

And hauled him off to jail.

You settled in with me quickly.

Your old self quickly shone bright.

You said you were a lot happier here

and the sparkle returned to your eyes.

You said this was the happiest you’d been

for almost a year or more.

You asked me if life would return

to what it was before.

I replied in the negative.

And told you it would never be the same.

That you came out stronger then before.

And in you burned a stronger flame.

I said what you went through

Made you the person you are today.

The one who is happy and smiling

and the one who never sways.

I asked you if it was all worth it

knowing this was how the story ends.

You said it was all worth it because you know

what it means to truly have a best friend.

One who was there for you in times of laughter

but also through the tears and pain.

You said if I was there beside you

Then your life wasn’t lived in vain.

The value of friendship

is not something something we can measure.

In times of great turbulence

They are truly hidden treasure.

So if you feel alone in the dark

and that you are lost and all alone.

Do not fret,and don’t despair.

Because good friends will help you find home.

If you’re having trouble

Open up to a friend.

They might be the one to save you

From the darkness in the end.