Thursday, April 16, 2009

To Need A Friend

Walked forever to find a bird.
Found another bird.
Not the one I sought,
but I smile at the thought.
I was all alone day after day;
he noticed I had passed his way
a few times, or more.
He hid nothing, volunteered more
answers than I asked him.
Soon, I was not afraid to ask him
anything. Anything at all.
There was no wall.

He had a few questions of his own,
like 'why are you always alone?
I was embarrassed and surprised
that no good answer came to mind,
and so I related to him the best
version of truth I could wrest,
trying not to sound moronic.
The dude's smile was chronic
and catching--and I asked 'why
do you keep smiling?' His reply
'Because I'm looking at you.'
I laughed, and I was glad, too.

When I knew to leave,
I wasn't so tired, but relieved.
I would have felt worse
if no one had cared for my words.
I carried the good feeling,
helped start some healing.
When I fell later en route
to my car, no one around,
to give me a lift,
but I still had his gift.
I knew that someone out there,
a stranger-friend did care,
so I will go see him again.
I know what it's like to need a friend.

No comments:

Post a Comment