Friendships online are often fleeting
Made and lost without once
even meeting.
How many friends
from online have I lost?
I haven't kept count
nor figured the cost.
Some depart, spouting bluster and rage
Others as quietly
as turning a page.
Many return though
I couldn't say when.
While the rest are
never heard from again.
For the loss of some
the fault is my own.
An unkind word spoken
and I'm left alone.
Some friends turn away
for no reason at all.
I'm puzzled and hurt
when they shun my call.
Scores of friends are forever
lost to me
Since the systems we called
ceased to be.
And more than once
I've had friends die.
I can't forget them;
I don't even try.
So take a moment
during your time online
And be aware, though there's
no outward sign.
That the sound you hear
that solitary crying.
Might be the sound
of friendships dying.
