The Ones Who Still Show Up

Nobody teaches you which ones will stayonce the funeral programs stop arriving,once the casseroles are gone and the housegoes quiet in the particular waya house goes quiet when the visiting's done.I used to think that friendship was the talking,the calling just to talk, the long catch-up.I know now it's the one who drives four hoursand doesn't ask what you need, just startson the dishes stacked up since Tuesday, elbow-deep,not looking at you, talking about the drive,the weather, anything, while the actual thinggets handled without either of you naming it.Who stays isn't the one who asks how you're holding up.It's the one already holding the sponge.