Those are not friends

Читать поэзию в переводе – все равно, что целовать женщину через вуаль. Джозеф Джейкобс
Переводы, как женщины: если верны, то некрасивы, а если красивы, то неверны. Моисей Сафир

Буду надеяться, что у нас получилось.

Those are not friends, who carry faceless thoughts,
Nor those who pay our debts instead of us.
For those who pay are also those who ought
To buy a spouse for a day without fuss.

Those are not friends, who praise you with their quill,
Who freely wake you up at darkest night.
All scribblers lie and likely always will –
For you those friends are surely not right.

Those are not friends, whose memory is short.
And distance is their foe they can’t resist.
You are their pal as long as you support,
But while in trouble you do not exist.

Those are not friends, who smile in your face,
Whose shadow curiously follows yours.
Do not befriend the one who will replace
Bombastic hopes with an infamous course.

Those are not friends, who sought you out because,
They needed to refill their empty lives.
Who use you as a treatment for the soul,
But turn away when you’re the one who cries.

A sly buffoon will never be my friend.
Apt moralizer or a know-it-all
Is just as capable of driving to the end,
And for their charms I’m sure I’ll never fall.

I loathe those who lend a helping hand,
And then expect a round of applause.
And if the bravery and courage they possess,
They surely don’t know what friends are for.

Oh, Lord Almighty, help me see what’s right,
And teach me to avoid the same mistakes.
I’d like to find the wisdom to know how
To tell a true friend from a nasty fake.