26+ Classic and Famous Poems About Friendship

Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.Muhammad Ali

Friendship, the thread that weaves the tapestry of our lives with warmth, trust, and companionship, has been a cherished theme in classic and famous poetry for centuries. From our collection of classic and famous poems about friendship below, you’ll find these timeless verses capture the essence of friendship, illuminating the deep emotional connections and unwavering support that true friends provide.

Classic and famous poems about friendship often explore the transformative power of companionship, emphasizing the joy of shared moments, the solace found in confidants, and the strength derived from mutual understanding. In these verses, poets from various eras and cultures have beautifully articulated the nuances of friendship, portraying it as a source of solace during life’s trials and a beacon of light during moments of darkness. The themes of loyalty, camaraderie, and unconditional support reverberate through these poems, reminding readers of the enduring bonds that stand the test of time. Famous poets like William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, and Robert Frost have eloquently penned verses that celebrate the profound impact of friendship on the human soul, portraying friends as kindred spirits who share our joys and sorrows.

Classic and famous poems about friendship serve as poignant reminders of the richness that genuine companionship adds to our lives. Through verses that echo with empathy and understanding, these poems inspire us to cherish our friends, honor their presence, and celebrate the beautiful tapestry of connections that make life meaningful. As readers immerse themselves in these poetic tributes to friendship, they are encouraged to reflect on their own bonds, appreciating the treasure trove of love and support that friendships bring, enriching our lives with laughter, understanding, and lasting friendship.

1, A Time to Talk © Robert Frost

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.

2, Will You Ever? © Kaitlyn M. Yawn

I don’t think you will
Ever fully understand
How you’ve touched my life
And made me who I am.

I don’t think you could ever know
Just how truly special you are,
That even on the darkest nights
You are my brightest star.

You’ve allowed me to experience
Something very hard to find,
Unconditional love that exists
In my body, soul, and mind.

I don’t think you could ever feel
All the love I have to give,
And I’m sure you’ll never realize
You’ve been my will to live.

You are an amazing person,
And without you I don’t know where I’d be.
Having you in my life
Completes and fulfills every part of me.

3, A Poison Tree © William Blake

I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I waterd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night.
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine.

And into my garden stole,
When the night had veild the pole;
In the morning glad I see;
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

4, Alone © 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.

5, A Friend © Gillian Jones

A person who will listen and not condemn
Someone on whom you can depend
They will not flee when bad times are here
Instead they will be there to lend an ear
They will think of ways to make you smile
So you can be happy for a while
When times are good and happy there after
They will be there to share the laughter
Do not forget your friends at all
For they pick you up when you fall
Do not expect to just take and hold
Give friendship back, it is pure gold.

7, Sonnet 104 © William Shakespeare

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.

8, To My Excellent Lucasia, on Our Friendship © Katherine Philips

I did not live until this time
Crowned my felicity,
When I could say without a crime,
I am not thine, but thee.

This carcass breathed, and walked, and slept,
So that the world believed
There was a soul the motions kept;
But they were all deceived.

For as a watch by art is wound
To motion, such was mine:
But never had Orinda found
A soul till she found thine;

Which now inspires, cures and supplies,
And guides my darkened breast:
For thou art all that I can prize,
My joy, my life, my rest.

No bridegroom’s nor crown-conqueror’s mirth
To mine compared can be:
They have but pieces of the earth,
I’ve all the world in thee.

Then let our flames still light and shine,
And no false fear control,
As innocent as our design,
Immortal as our soul.

9, Friendship © Henry David Thoreau

I think awhile of Love, and while I think,
Love is to me a world,
Sole meat and sweetest drink,
And close connecting link
Tween heaven and earth.

I only know it is, not how or why,
My greatest happiness;
However hard I try,
Not if I were to die,
Can I explain.

I fain would ask my friend how it can be,
But when the time arrives,
Then Love is more lovely
Than anything to me,
And so I’m dumb.

For if the truth were known, Love cannot speak,
But only thinks and does;
Though surely out ’twill leak
Without the help of Greek,
Or any tongue.

A man may love the truth and practise it,
Beauty he may admire,
And goodness not omit,
As much as may befit
To reverence.

But only when these three together meet,
As they always incline,
And make one soul the seat,
And favorite retreat,
Of loveliness;

When under kindred shape, like loves and hates
And a kindred nature,
Proclaim us to be mates,
Exposed to equal fates
Eternally;

And each may other help, and service do,
Drawing Love’s bands more tight,
Service he ne’er shall rue
While one and one make two,
And two are one;

In such case only doth man fully prove
Fully as man can do,
What power there is in Love
His inmost soul to move
Resistlessly.

Two sturdy oaks I mean, which side by side,
Withstand the winter’s storm,
And spite of wind and tide,
Grow up the meadow’s pride,
For both are strong

Above they barely touch, but undermined
Down to their deepest source,
Admiring you shall find
Their roots are intertwined
Insep’rably.

10, Friendship © Tina Rizk

Friendship is not accepting a friend request
or chatting in private
Friendship is that soul that appears in kind words In a prayer from the heart in time of distress
Friendship is a smile in happy times and a tear in sad times
Friendship is protection in time of need
Friendship is respect
Friendship is to miss your friend if he or she is absent
Friendship and love are a closed city
That only loyals can enter
And those who appreciate their values

11, Friendship © Nicki Jones

Friendship is having a special one
One who is always there
One who always shows you
How much they really care

Friendship is knowing that you are never alone
One who is always there at the end of the phone

Friendship is making the time
Nights in with that bottle of wine
Listening to each other and sharing stories
Celebrating each other’s glory

Friendship is being truthful, avoiding the telling of lies
Comforting you, wiping the tears from your eyes

Friendship is giggling at things others wouldn’t understand
And when things get so tough
They reach out and take your hand

Friendship is a comfort blanket
That hugs you oh so tight
Having that special someone that tells you
it’s going to be alright

Friendship is a gift
That they give to you and you to them
I’m so lucky to have found that friendship
Someone to calm my mayhem

Friendship is knowing that no matter how far apart
You are joined by that friendship
You have a piece of their heart

They know how you are feeling
When you haven’t said a word
Your silence to them can always be heard

I’m so lucky to have that kind of friendship
A friendship so rare so true
My wish is that someday
That you all find that friendship too

12, Love and Friendship © Emily Brontë

Love is like the wild rose-briar,
Friendship like the holly-tree—
The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms
But which will bloom most constantly?

The wild rose-briar is sweet in spring,
Its summer blossoms scent the air;
Yet wait till winter comes again
And who will call the wild-briar fair?

Then scorn the silly rose-wreath now
And deck thee with the holly’s sheen,
That when December blights thy brow
He still may leave thy garland green.

13, Us Two © A.A. Milne

Wherever I am, there’s always Pooh,
There’s always Pooh and Me.
Whatever I do, he wants to do,
“Where are you going today?” says Pooh:
“Well, that’s very odd ‘cos I was too.
Let’s go together,” says Pooh, says he.
“Let’s go together,” says Pooh.

“What’s twice eleven?” I said to Pooh.
(“Twice what?” said Pooh to Me.)
“I think it ought to be twenty-two.”
“Just what I think myself,” said Pooh.
“It wasn’t an easy sum to do,
But that’s what it is,” said Pooh, said he.
“That’s what it is,” said Pooh.

“Let’s look for dragons,” I said to Pooh.
“Yes, let’s,” said Pooh to Me.
We crossed the river and found a few-
“Yes, those are dragons all right,” said Pooh.
“As soon as I saw their beaks I knew.
That’s what they are,” said Pooh, said he.
“That’s what they are,” said Pooh.

“Let’s frighten the dragons,” I said to Pooh.
“That’s right,” said Pooh to Me.
“I’m not afraid,” I said to Pooh,
And I held his paw and I shouted “Shoo!
Silly old dragons!”- and off they flew.

“I wasn’t afraid,” said Pooh, said he,
“I’m never afraid with you.”

So wherever I am, there’s always Pooh,
There’s always Pooh and Me.
“What would I do?” I said to Pooh,
“If it wasn’t for you,” and Pooh said: “True,
It isn’t much fun for One, but Two,
Can stick together, says Pooh, says he. “That’s how it is,” says Pooh.

14, Hug o’ War © 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.

15, It’s Just Friendship © Toli Riba

She says she would bury a body with me
But she insists it’s just friendship

She calls me everytime to come and meet
But she insists its just friendship

She sends me messages up until the morning
But she insists it’s just friendship

She clicks my pictures and keeps them in plenty
But she insists it’s just friendship

She helped me get through some dark times
But she insists it’s just friendship

She talks and talks but stops right at confession
She insists it’s just friendship

So my confused heart sought another to seal the kiss
Who didn’t insist it’s just friendship

Now she doesn’t talk to me that often
Why’d you have to insist it was just friendship?

16, Losing a Friend © Yuuto Anna

Friendship ended
With storms and thunder
We couldn’t understand each other
The way I expected.

But it’s okay
You know why?
Because when someone leaves
Something inside
You, now its growing,
Self love, its called
“Who needs others when you have yourself?”
“Who needs someone else’s love when you love yourself?”
You learn all those things
From mistakes you’ve made
By choosing others
Instead of yourself.

Now you know
What you have to do
You learned self respect,
Self love and now you won’t choose others instead of you,because at the end of the day
You,its all that matters

17, You Smile Upon Your Friend To-Day © A. E. Housman

You smile upon your friend to-day,
To-day his ills are over;
You hearken to the lover’s say,
And happy is the lover.
‘Tis late to hearken, late to smile,
But better late than never;
I shall have lived a little while
Before I die for ever.

18, Old Friends © Edgar A. Guest

I do not say new friends are not considerate and true,
Or that their smiles ain’t genuine, but still I’m tellin’ you
That when a feller’s heart is crushed and achin’ with the pain,
And teardrops come a-splashin’ down his cheeks like summer rain,
Becoz his grief an’ loneliness are more than he can bear,
Somehow it’s only old friends, then, that really seem to care.
The friends who’ve stuck through thick an’ thin, who’ve known you, good an’ bad,
Your faults an’ virtues, an’ have seen the struggles you have had,
When they come to you gentle-like an’ take your hand an’ say:
‘Cheer up! we’re with you still,’ it counts, for that’s the old friends’ way.

The new friends may be fond of you for what you are today;
They’ve only known you rich, perhaps, an’ only seen you gay;
You can’t tell what’s attracted them; your station may appeal;
Perhaps they smile on you because you’re doin’ something real;
But old friends who have seen you fail, an’ also seen you win,
Who’ve loved you either up or down, stuck to you, thick or thin,
Who knew you as a budding youth, an’ watched you start to climb,
Through weal an’ woe, still friends of yours an’ constant all the time,
When trouble comes an’ things go wrong, I don’t care what you say,
They are the friends you’ll turn to, for you want the old friends’ way.

The new friends may be richer, an’ more stylish, too, but when
Your heart is achin’ an’ you think your sun won’t shine again,
It’s not the riches of new friends you want, it’s not their style,
It’s not the airs of grandeur then, it’s just the old friend’s smile,
The old hand that has helped before, stretched out once more to you,
The old words ringin’ in your ears, so sweet an’, Oh, so true!
The tenderness of folks who know just what your sorrow means,
These are the things on which, somehow, your spirit always leans.
When grief is poundin’ at your breast — the new friends disappear
An’ to the old ones tried an’ true, you turn for aid an’ cheer.

19, True Friend © Alysha Ashley Mae Rodriguez

I don’t need a everyone
I’m just looking for someone
That stay in my upside down
Who never leave me,for a lifetime
A true friend
I know its hard to find
And no one can buy
This priceless one
She laugh at my flaws
She’s making a lot of chaos
But no matter what happened
She’s their when I needed her most
Their is no boring time
When she’s at my side
We know how to make each other smile
And hearing each other cries
No one can break
The bond we make
Even the strongest storm can’t damage
The friendship we create.

20, Friends © Brenda Buckley

You are very special to me,
My friends, I pick carefully you see.

Your energy and spirit fill the room,
I love watching our friendship bloom.

You are strong and gentle, protector of thee
You saw my pain, then hugged me.

Your embrace filled with love and care,
I felt from my toes through to every last hair.

Your smile, brightening many a day,
I believe nothing can stand in your way.

The gift of a friend, so precious and rare
You know from day one, they will always be there.

21, To All My Friends © 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

And a youth said, Speak to us of Friendship.
And he answered, saying:
Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.

When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the “nay” in your own mind, nor do you withhold the “ay.”
And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery us not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.

And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

how it comes from the sky because I am dry because
I am thirsty reaching down for roots I can feel
& up for dream & because I need the wet the release
of flood but not too much that would have been the daily
April poem then I snuck into a little place for pasta talked
myself into believing I deserved a treat thinking I was
anonymous & there was Meena’s husband David with friends
eating & laughing we greeted awkwardly I stayed at my
corner table red wine & rigatoni all I could think about was
Meena’s thick shiny nearly black hair how I didn’t manage
to visit her that last year of illness although I said I would
she sent me poem & photo told about losing her hair
I said it looks beautiful short that I was thinking of cutting
mine don’t do it she said don’t cut your hair then she
was gone her photo in my office so anyone who enters
will know her poems moving around like waves tulip
stems high pitched elegant voice articulating
how the world begins & ends how verse continues

For Nate Pritts

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.

I love you,
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am when I am with you.

I love you,
Not only for what you have made of yourself,
But for what you are making of me.

I love you for
the part of me that you bring out;
I love you for
putting your hand into my heaped-up heart
And passing over all the foolish, weak things
that you can’t help dimly seeing there,
And for drawing out into the light
All the beautiful things
that no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find.

I love you because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good,
And more than any fate could have done
To make me happy.

You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.
You have done it by being yourself
Perhaps that is what
Being a friend means, after all.

Remember me. I’m your best friend
we met when we started school
We’d take our nets and fishing rods
and head off down to the pool

Happy childhood memories
come flooding back to me
Memories so vivid, so real
of how things used to be

And then came the war to end all wars
it took us overseas
We fought together side by side
against our enemies

We came back home, met our wives
Two sisters Joan and Jean,
had a double ceremony gave the town
the best wedding ever seen

We bought our houses raised our kids
Took holidays together,
helped each other through stormy times
sailed the stormy weather.

Our children left, went seperate ways
settled in faraway places,
We bought computers, signed with Skype
to see our grandchildren’s faces.

Then my Jeany died, it broke my heart
I’d loved her all my life
Her Sister and you, held my hand
as I buried my darling wife

Twelve months later, almost to the day
Cancer took your Joan,
With our children scattered all over the world
we were now truly alone

So we sold our houses, their memories too,
Bought a three bedded bungalow,
And there for the next two or three years
our memories would grow and grow.

Was it in eighty three or four
you really started to change,
You couldn’t remember the basic things
which made you feel very strange.

We’d sit and talk glass in hand
about the good old days,
But sometimes you’d drift off on your own
your eyes would be half glazed.

It didn’t bother me at first
old age was just to blame,
Then one day you couldn’t even remember
your own wife’s name.

We’d sit in a room, you’d burst into tears
for no reason at all,
I’d come home from shopping to find you sat
just staring at the wall.

You changed from a friend into a stranger
your personality changed,
You’d say you’d seen Jean sat in her chair
you became quite deranged.

I phoned the doctors, took you next day
you thought it an adventure,
It didn’t take long for the doctor to say
you had early signs of dementia.

I thought it was natural to have memory loss
as we all grew older,
But as the long days turned into months
you became colder and colder.

The telephone held such fear for you
I just couldn’t understand,
You couldn’t pick it up when it rang
you dismissed it out of hand.

So I bought all the books, read all I could
and tried to understand,
Swore to myself I’d look after you
and take you by the hand.

Then over the years as time passed you by
I became your full time nurse,
I convinced myself, that your lonely old life
just couldn’t get any worse.

But get worse it did, I could hardly stand
to know your brain was dying,
Sometimes you’d come back for a moment in time
then you’d break down crying.

Even though I’d known you all of our lives
always looked out for you,
Your personality had changed so much
you weren’t the friend I knew.

But I carried on dressed you each day
fed you, put you to bed,
Sat and talked to you night after night
your path of life we’d tread.

Sometimes a glimpse or a little sign
something deep in your mind,
would stir a memory, a picture perhaps,
of those you left behind.

Then one cold night as I lay in my bed
I heard a deathly moan,
I knew there and then you were back to yourself
in the arms of your darling Joan.

So now here I stand at your graveside
your life is at an end,
I know only one thing for definite
you remember me again old friend.

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