The Angel called Friendship

 

The Angel Called Friendship 

(A lone voice whispers)

They all appear to me like shooting stars.

Sometimes like a fallen, sad angel who has walked alone so far.

Filled with guilt, pain, and regrets, but who seeks to be reborn again.

And so I always call my light bearers to follow them wherever they appear with letters of intent.

Through all their black sludge and descents linked to life's many dramatic events.

For in doing so, I know one day I'll bless them with these heartfelt sentiments.

Rise, my child, for you're no longer fallen but starting to ascend.

(C) Copyright John Duffy

A poem that frames friendship itself as a quiet, angelic force—one that doesn’t rescue people from their suffering but walks beside them through it.

The “shooting stars” and “fallen, sad angels” aren’t literal angels; they’re people. 

Friends who’ve been bruised by life, who’ve carried guilt, regret, loneliness, or shame, and who may feel like they’ve fallen from who they once were. 

The repetition of walking alone so far emphasizes how isolated that pain has been.

The speaker’s role is important here. They don’t judge or try to fix. Instead, they notice, recognize, and care.

 Calling the “light bearers” feels symbolic of patience, loyalty, empathy, and hope—those quiet virtues that real friendship is made of.

 It’s not dramatic heroics; it’s steady presence.

The phrase “black sludge and descents” captures how ugly and exhausting emotional lows can be. 

Friendship, in this poem, means staying present even when someone is at their messiest, when life’s “dramatic events” pull them under again and again.

What makes the ending powerful is that the blessing isn’t rushed.

“For in doing so, I know one day…”

The speaker understands that healing is slow. Ascension only comes after the descent has been honored and endured. 

When the final line arrives—“Rise, my child”—it’s not superiority or control. It’s recognition. 

A friend saying, I see your growth. You’re not who you were at your lowest.

So the poem means friendship can see people as wounded, not broken. Sometimes. It stays when things are dark and uncomfortable.

It believes in rebirth even when the person can’t yet.

And it gently reminds them, one day, that they are rising. 

It's a soft, compassionate poem about faith in people—the kind of faith that doesn’t demand proof, only time. 

And so in ending, I can only hope you are surrounded by these angels. 

Salute.

. Image shared under fair usage policy.