First Edit: Friendship

[Achebe]

Friendship

We sit by a fire,
faces illuminated by dull light.   ....I think it's fine if you end it an 'illuminated'. 'Dull' is not a particularly memorable adjective, and illumination by light doesn't need mention
Our words own the night air ....I find this to be quite forgettable.
as we talk of work, vacations and children.  ...'and talk' to go with the above changes

I lose myself in gatherings like this: 
I become a tree painted behind a bush, ... don't think you need the I' here, and the colon in the previous line can be replaced by a comma
added because the painter knew
there was too much blue sky; ... equivocal on whether the 'blue' is needed...
my voice no louder than a falling pine needle, ... since you're still talking about the picture metaphor in the next line, the voice reference doesn't sit well
my sight limited to within the frame.

I stay longer than I intended
because it opiates my senses, ... is 'opiate' a verb?
justifies my blank pages,
subdues my self-loathing. ..one too many 'my's. But the ending is too self indulgent to be interesting

I think there's potential here...