“Friends . . old friends. . .
So it breaks, so it ends.
There let it rest.
It has fought and won,
And is still the best
That either has done.
Each as he stands
The work of its hands,
Which shall be more
As he was before?
What is it ends
With friends?”

—  William Ernest Henley

A Book of Verses (1888)

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William Ernest Henley29
English poet, critic and editor 1849–1903

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“Friends . . old friends. . .
One sees how it ends.
A woman looks
Or a man tells lies,
And the pleasant brooks
And the quiet skies,
Ruined with brawling
And caterwauling,
Enchant no more
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And so it ends
with friends.


Friends . . old friends . . .
And what if it ends?
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