A Friend
© 2016 by P Michael Biggs
When I met her I was
still fragile
The wounds were hidden
But they were there
And her wounds were there too
Sometimes they came out
Sometimes I had to help
her
edge them to the light
And so we talked
And so we laughed
And so we trusted
Slowly at first …
Are you for real?
Are you what I perceive
you to be?
Can you possibly become
that great friend
and lover I have longed
for?
Will you abandon me?
Run away?
Leave me for another?
I have dreams, she said
I want a degree
I want the education I
never got
What do you want?
First I want you to have
your dream
And degree and education
And then …
I want to write
I want my voice to be
heard
The voice of
encouragement and validation
The voice of hope and
inspiration
Then let us walk
together
And so we did
And so we are
To borrow from Toni
Morrison
“She gather me, man.
The pieces I am,
She gather them
and give them back to me
In all the right order.”
She listens, and
encourages
And nurtures, and loves
We talk, we laugh,
We walk, we love
I cry on her shoulder
She cries on mine
And Toni comes back …
“It’s good, you know
When you got a woman
Who is a friend of your
mind.”
And a friend of your
heart, Toni.
A friend of your heart.
