Friends

[tmetel]

Death is a wanton guest of mine
A frequent acquaintance for years
Whispering in my ear at times
Bound to the weight of my fears

We push and we wrangle each day
As I stand my ground for a fight
Eyes brimming again as I pray
To see the end of this night

Time and again I play this game
With the hope I can play again
And every day it feels the same
It’s no longer if but when

Yet…

Life is a cherished friend of mine
We hold hands as if we are one
Making the most while marking time
Living for dreams yet to come

Each morning I rise with the sun
And build hopes of the day to be
Resolute by the battles won
And treasures I’ve yet to see

Simple things are brought to the fore
A soft laugh, the breeze or a kiss
Taking time and squeezing some more
Too many moments to miss

Bitter sweet when days are numbered
Not knowing which one is the last
My life is not one encumbered
My present now lies in my past

[Johntee]

I liked the contrapuntal nature of the piece
and I'm hardly the one to remark this
as a lot of my lines come
with syllable counts
that vary but:-
The stanzas go
a 8,8,8,7
b 8,8,8,7
c 8,8,8,9

d 8,8,8,7
e 8,8,8,7
f 8,8,8,7
g 8,8,9,8

If you'll pardon my crude carpentry (though others on this site would be able for better yet again)
they might easily be regularized to 8 syllable lines and lose one repeat each of "again" and "as," thus:-

Death is a wanton guest of mine
A frequent acquaintance for years
Whispering in my ear at times,
anchored by the weight of my fears

We push and we wrangle each day
As I stand my ground for a fight
Eyes brimming again while I pray
Through the long watch hours of the night

Time and again I play this game
With the hope I can remain
And every day it feels the same,
no longer the if but the when

Yet…

Life is a cherished friend of mine
holding hands as if we were one
Making the most while marking time
Alive to the dreams yet to come

Each morning I rise with the dawn
And build hopes of the day to be
Resolute by the battles won
And treasures that I’ve yet to see

Simple things are brought to the fore
A soft laugh, the breeze or a kiss
Taking time and squeezing some more
there's too many moments to miss

Bitter sweet when days are numbered
Not knowing which one is the last
Of promise I'm not encumbered
My present now lies in my past

[tmetel]

Wow! Thank you, That's a whole lot of effort into someone else's rhyme. Not only that but I had not seen that the last word in stanza g doesn't rhyme. I am often amused that I can write and read many times yet miss the obvious. I will take this back to the drawing board, it won't be immediate but I will correct. Again thank you.