Five Flashlights for Christmas

I was in the dark
that I was in the dark
but four of my closest friends
can't be wrong,
and the office party gift exchange . . .
Was it a cosmic Black Friday coincidence
or the white elephant in the room
all year long?
The real question is,
if this is lost,
where am I supposed to be?
If this is dark,
what am I supposed to see?
Maybe it isn't about me --
with one for each hand, both feet,
one between my teeth,
I could be a beacon
for disoriented travelers
or lost freighters,
a search party leader
that combs that caverns and craters
for wayward wanderers
too unfortunate to have friends
as thoughtful as mine.
Who knows what I'd find
with these, a little torch
for every corner and the very core
of the earth?
Maybe the universe
is recruiting agents
for the day the sun inevitably goes out,
for the day wise men heed me
and I shout,
"He who followeth me need not
wander in darkness . . .!"
Maybe I just have cheap friends . . .
who in a flash have exposed that
all the riddles in the world
could never shed light
on where I should shed light --