Nearby friend

Nearby friend

Nearby, yes, 
Not too close, 
Nor too far, 
Just the right distance!  

Enough that one
Is there, approx.,
A friend, flawed,  
Failed, troubled, 

But a friend still
Nonetheless, 
Known amid strangers, 
Familiar, safe. 

Home's bright bulb,  
Bedside's dim glow,  
Not these, not on us,   
Not so close!  

But a street lamp  
On mind's paths travelled,   
Many times.  
Stay lit, stay still.