Poem: What Friends are For

J.B.S. September 1989

Friends

There's that shoulder when I need it Hand to hold on walks at sunset conversation over troubles and ecstacies.

A leisurely meal of homemade vegetable soup

and fresh wheat bread

(Shadows of bowls and plates moving against the table

from the flickering light of candles)

and a revealing of the heart amidst the sound of silverware.

We lost track of who owes what to whom a long time ago

and ended up just being generous, striving to do unto one another.

Shaving down square pegs to fit in that

heart-shaped space.Jt hurts at times

but that's how we change.

Despite the sawdust on the ground,

evidence of the pushing and shoving to make things work

(the way they should!)

That's what friends are for (at least that's what they say)

and it seems to work...and we want it to work...most of the time.

Two hands

are better than one (gets the job done sooner)

Two heads

are better than one (to think things through)

Two hearts

are better than one (to drink of the Spirit)