First Edit: Friendship

[Todd]

Hi Richard, I had an immediate response to this. So, let me give you some feedback.

Friendship--Not a fan of this title. Too flat. I'd recommend making line 4 your new title and pulling it out of the body of the poem.

We sit by a fire,
faces illuminated by dull light.
Our words own the night air--like this phrasing quite a bit.
as we talk of work, vacations and children.

I lose myself in gatherings like this:
I become a tree painted behind a bush,--love this image
added because the painter knew
there was too much blue sky;--what a stark characterization. We learn a lot about the speaker's self-perception.
my voice no louder than a falling pine needle,--fits the scene another nice image.
my sight limited to within the frame.--not a fan of this line. Seems flat. You could cut it and end on the great pine needle line.

I stay longer than I intended
because it opiates my senses,--The poem loses steam for me in this strophe. Opiates comes off as self-conscious to me. It draws to much attention to itself. I also am not a fan of the last line. I would consider simply. I stay longer than I intended/because it justifies my blank pages. And leave it at that.
justifies my blank pages,
subdues my self-loathing.

Just my initial feelings on the piece. 

I hope it's helpful.

Best,

Todd