Poems About Friendship: Celebrating Friendship Poems
Friendships can be some of the most rewarding relationships in a person’s life. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, 61% of adults in the United States believe that close friendships are extremely or very important for a fulfilling life. In the same survey, only 23% said the same about marriage.
Below, we’ll look at some key poems about friendship and ways to receive support for building friendships, including therapy.
Poems about friendship from William Shakespeare and Robert Frost
Over the years, many renowned authors have written about the value of true friendship. Some have written about the value of a specific friend, while others have discussed the importance of friendship in general. To begin looking at great poems about friendship, we’ll start with William Shakespeare and Robert Frost.
Friendship poems by William Shakespeare
While Shakespeare may be well-known for his famous plays, such as Macbeth and Hamlet, he was also a prolific poet. Below are a few of his famous poems on friendship.
“Dear Friend”
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love's long since cancelled woe,
And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight:
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrows end.
“Sonnet 104”
To me, fair friend, you never can be old,
For as you were when first your eye I ey’d,
Such seems your beauty still. Three winters cold,
Have from the forests shook three summers’ pride,
Three beauteous springs to yellow autumn turn’d,
In process of the seasons have I seen,
Three April perfumes in three hot Junes burn’d,
Since first I saw you fresh, which yet are green.
Ah! yet doth beauty like a dial-hand,
Steal from his figure, and no pace perceiv’d;
So your sweet hue, which methinks still doth stand,
Hath motion, and mine eye may be deceiv’d:
For fear of which, hear this thou age unbred:
Ere you were born was beauty’s summer dead.
(H3) “Friends and Flatterers,” one of the lesser-known poems about friendship by William Shakespeare
Every one that flatters thee
Is no friend in misery.
Words are easy, like the wind;
Faithful friends are hard to find:
Every man will be thy friend
Whilst thou hast wherewith to spend;
But if store of crowns be scant,
No man will supply thy want.
If that one be prodigal,
Bountiful they will him call,
And with such-like flattering,
'Pity but he were a king;'
If he be addict to vice,
Quickly him they will entice;
If to women he be bent,
They have at commandement:
But if Fortune once do frown,
Then farewell his great renown
They that fawn'd on him before
Use his company no more.
He that is thy friend indeed,
He will help thee in thy need:
If thou sorrow, he will weep;
If thou wake, he cannot sleep;
Thus of every grief in heart
He with thee doth bear a part.
These are certain signs to know
Faithful friend from flattering foe.
Robert Frost friendship poems
The following are a couple of friendship poems by Robert Frost. Others, such as “The Road Not Taken,” touch on friendship, too, but these poems mention friendship specifically.
“A Time To Talk,” one of Robert Frost’s most famous friendship poems
When a friend calls to me from the road
And slows his horse to a meaning walk,
I don’t stand still and look around
On all the hills I haven’t hoed,
And shout from where I am, What is it?
No, not as there is a time to talk.
I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,
Blade-end up and five feet tall,
And plod: I go up to the stone wall
For a friendly visit.
“Iris By Night”
One misty evening, one another’s guide,
We two were groping down a Malvern side
The last wet fields and dripping hedges home.
There came a moment of confusing lights,
Such as according to belief in Rome
Were seen of old at Memphis on the heights
Before the fragments of a former sun
Could concentrate anew and rise as one.
Light was a paste of pigment in our eyes.
And then there was a moon and then a scene
So watery as to seem submarine;
In which we two stood saturated, drowned.
The clover-mingled rowan on the ground
Had taken all the water it could as dew,
And still the air was saturated too,
Its airy pressure turned to water weight.
Then a small rainbow like a trellis gate,
A very small moon-made prismatic bow,
Stood closely over us through which to go.
And then we were vouchsafed a miracle
That never yet to other two befell
And I alone of us have lived to tell.
A wonder! Bow and rainbow as it bent,
Instead of moving with us as we went
(To keep the pots of gold from being found),
It lifted from its dewy pediment
Its two mote-swimming many-colored ends
And gathered them together in a ring.
And we stood in it softly circled round
From all division time or foe can bring
In a relation of elected friends.
Friendship poems from other authors
Numerous other authors have contemplated the value of friendship over the years. Below are a few famous poems on friendship.
“Alone,” a famous work of poetry by Maya Angelou
Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don’t believe I’m wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
There are some millionaires
With money they can't use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They've got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Now if you listen closely
I'll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
'Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
“Hug O’ War” by Shel Silverstein
I will not play at tug o' war.
I'd rather play at hug o' war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins
“Poem For A Friend” by Maurice Boland
If I could write a poem.
I would write it just for you.
But I can not write a poem.
So what am I to do?
If I could write a poem.
I would tell you lots of things.
Of love and happiness.
and the Joy your friendship brings.
But I can not write a poem.
So you will never know.
Just how much I love you.
And now I have to go!
“The Friend” by Matt Hart
The friend lives half in the grass
and half in the chocolate cake,
walks over to your house in the bashful light
of November, or the forceful light of summer.
You put your hand on her shoulder,
or you put your hand on his shoulder.
The friend is indefinite. You are both
so tired, no one ever notices the sleeping bags
inside you and under your eyes when you’re talking
together about the glue of this life, the sticky
saturation of bodies into darkness. The friend’s crisis
of faith about faith is unnerving in its power
to influence belief, not in or toward some other
higher power, but away from all power in the grass
or the lake with your hand on her shoulder, your hand
on his shoulder. You tell the friend the best things
you can imagine, and every single one of them has
already happened, so you recount them
of great necessity with nostalgic, atomic ferocity,
and one by one by one until many. The eggbirds whistle
the gargantuan trees. The noiserocks fall twisted
into each other’s dreams, their colorful paratrooping,
their skinny dark jeans, little black walnuts
to the surface of this earth. You and the friend
remain twisted together, thinking your simultaneous
and inarticulate thoughts in physical lawlessness,
in chemical awkwardness. It is too much
to be so many different things at once. The friend
brings black hole candy to your lips, and jumping
off the rooftops of your city, the experience.
So much confusion — the several layers of exhaustion,
and being a friend with your hands in your pockets,
and the friend’s hands in your pockets.
O bitter black walnuts of this parachuted earth!
O gongbirds and appleflocks! The friend
puts her hand on your shoulder. The friend
puts his hand on your shoulder. You find
a higher power when you look.
“A Golden Chain” by Helen Steiner Rice
Friendship is a Golden Chain,
The links are friends so dear,
And like a rare and precious jewel
It's treasured more each year...
It's clasped together firmly
With a love that's deep and true,
And it's rich with happy memories
and fond recollections, too...
Time can't destroy its beauty
For, as long as memory lives,
Years can't erase the pleasure
That the joy of friendship gives...
For friendship is a priceless gift
That can't be bought or sold,
But to have an understanding friend
Is worth far more than gold...
And the Golden Chain of Friendship
Is a strong and blessed tie
Binding kindred hearts together
As the years go passing by.
“To All My Friends” by May Yang
That I could be this human at this time
breathing, looking, seeing, smelling
That I could be this moment at this time
resting, calmly moving, feeling
That I could be this excellence at this time
sudden, changed, peaceful, & woke
To all my friends who have been with me in weakness
when water falls rush down my two sides
To all my friends who have felt me in anguish
when this earthen back breaks between the crack of two blades
To all my friends who have held me in rage
when fire tears through swallows behind tight grins
I know you
I see you
I hear you
Although the world is silent around you
I know you
I see you
I hear you
How can you use poetry about friendship?
Friendship poems might serve as a source of encouragement during times of loneliness or hardship. Some people may also send a poem about friendship to their good friends as a reminder of how much they’re appreciated. A friendship poem might be an especially important gift when your best friend is going through a difficult time, as it can be a reminder of the unconditional love you have for them.
You might also explore friendship poetry as inspiration to write your own poems in honor of your true friends. You might consider the attributes of a good friend in your life and send them a poem or note that shows them how much you value them.
Exploring friendship beyond a friendship poem
Friendship often brings joy and fulfillment in numerous stages of life, but it can sometimes be challenging to nurture friendships and make new friends. If you’re experiencing challenges with friendship, whether it’s a new friendship or a lifelong relationship, you may benefit from speaking with a licensed mental health professional. They may offer insight into the specific challenges you’re facing and help you make amends with a true friend if necessary. They may also help you explore other friend options you may not have considered.
Online therapy for help with friendship
If you are hesitant about attending traditional in-office therapy, you may benefit from trying online therapy. This type of therapy can enable you to communicate with a therapist in the way that’s most comfortable for you, such as audio, video, or live chat.
Studies generally support the use of online therapy and state that it can effectively address a variety of mental health challenges and concerns. While not much research specifically evaluates the efficacy of online therapy for friendship difficulties, current evidence suggests that online and in-person therapy usually produce the same outcomes.
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