Dedicated to the students in my reading class

A Multitude of Friends
By John Herlihy

I will write this honestly without boasting;
I have a multitude of friends I am hosting.
They have stayed with me faithfully until now,
And will stay thru thick and thin until the end.
I sometimes come upon them by accident;
Sometimes I come upon them by design.
I greet them wholeheartedly when I am confident,
Or they offer themselves up as a gift when I feel hesitant.
One could say they have given me everything they know,
A message about our lives as humans, as a gift to bestow.
One could say they have given me everything I know,
How to proceed through life having a purpose with glow.

In my lonely hours, these friends are there to soothe me;
In my idle hours, these friends are there to occupy me.
They take up residence close to me, within and without;
They make me feel confident and leave me in no doubt.
They are true friends I can give nothing freely back to;
They are a confidante you want to give something back to.
In the privacy of my inner rooms they are most welcome;
They are invited guests who bring to me my greatest fortune.
They line the walls and bookshelves with their extravagance;
They create a unique ambiance that fills me with their elegance.
Who are these mysterious strangers who have become my soul mates?
The books I have read, loved and treasured, my private potentates.