To The Friends Who Love Us For Who We Really Are

To the ones who have been there all along and the ones who continue to prove to us that they’ll always be there.

They’ll love us whether we’re rich or poor, whether we fail or succeed, whether we’re lost or on the right path. They’re always there. They always make us feel loved. They always make us feel like we belong, like we’re still part of something wonderful, we’re still wanted and we’re still needed.

To the ones who could have easily walked away but decided to stay because our friendship is stronger, our friendship is real and because their world is better when we’re in it.

To the ones who make our world better each and every day, with their memories, their stories, their actions, their gestures and all the little ways they show us how much they care and what we mean to them.

To the ones who don’t judge us when we fall or kick us when we’re down, to the ones who try to lift us back up and bring us back to reality, the ones who heal us when we’re broken and hold us close when we’re hurting.

To the ones who make us believe in love because they accept us for who we are and love us anyway. They love us with our mess, our wacky choices, our odd quirks, our crazy family and our foolish past. They love us for our heart, they don’t forget the nights we exposed ourselves and told them our secrets, the nights we stayed up talking about our fears and the future and they don’t forget the times it was us and them against the world. The moments we knew that this kind of bond and friendship will never be replaced because it’s one of a kind.

To the ones who still make time for us whether they’re busy at work or married or taking care of their children. The ones who prove to us that we’ll always be important to them and they’ll always find a place for us in their lives. To the ones who don’t disappear as time goes by, the ones who don’t turn around when we need them and the ones who continue to show us how much their love is kind and permanent.

To the ones who will always be ‘forever’ in the world of temporary. Thank you for everything. Thank you for not giving up on us. Thank you for your friendship. It’s an honor.

Rania Naim is a poet and author of the new book All The Words I Should Have Said, available here.