Friendships online are often fleeting,
Some depart, spouting bluster and rage,
For the loss of some, the fault is my own,
Scores of friends are forever lost to me
So take a moment during your time online
Made and lost without even once meeting.
How many friends from online have I lost?
I haven't kept count nor figured the cost.
Others as quietly as the turn of a page.
Many return though I couldn't say when,
While the rest are never heard from again.
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.
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.
And be aware, though there's no outward sign.
That sound you hear, that solitary crying,
Might well be the sound of friendships dying.