Stand Beside Me

Don’t bring me whispers, sharp and sly,
Of what they spoke when I passed by.
I care not for their poisoned song,
But if you stood to prove me strong.

Did you rise when shadows spread,
Or let their silence paint me dead?
A friend is forged in fire’s embrace,
Not in the gossip’s fleeting trace.

So tell me not of what they say,
But how you fought to clear my way.
For loyalty is more than breath,
It shields a soul through storm and death.