FRIENDSHIP
Bonus in good times, remedy
When times are hard; a master-key
That has the knack, knows how it's done,
Locks two strong wills to make them one;
Backbone of human conduct; sure
Anchor of this life's insecure
Ship; the mild law that keeps the peace
For everything the bright moon sees:
Friendship, pure goodness, heaven-sent,
Gives its possessor instant gain,
Being itself its own self's fruit.
It's Mother Nature's natural bent:
Who lives without it, can obtain
Instruction from the soulless brute.
Juan Ruiz de Alarcón y Mendoza
Translation by Timothy Adès