Earnest cliche

I have let them go, friends once and no longer,
And our camaraderie has, as they say, sailed,
(Missing journey implied) --
But sometimes the what if of us blows back into port,
And then I see, once more, the ship pass by,
There it is - and there it goes.
Was it wrong to haul anchor so?
Nautical metaphors may work well in the sinking,
Eventually, of all remnants of that worn-down boat,
That skiff, that raft --
Until it is nothing but driftwood floating
forlornly, its doom not far --
But in this cliche, all I want to say is
our ties were cut justly
and even as I rig the display - the model -
that ship in a bottle - as a fond reminder -
I know I will cork it tight
And, metaphors be damned, be glad
that it is over, and for good.