For several nights
I wondered why
you chose to cry
on me.

I had nothing
to do with you.
I felt so unable
to fill your many needs
that instead
I stayed away.

So why
would you be interested
in selfish
snobby
little
me?

Yet you looked so
forlorn
lonely
and miserable...

So I sat down
at your side
with nothing to say.

Finally
Perhaps because
I wanted so hard
Finally
after all these years
I saw

There is something
I can give you.

Do you need a hug?

A barely visible nod
and suddenly
you were in my arms.

(Had I kept you waiting
too long?)

What next?
I don't even know you
After all these years...
But finally
perhaps because
I felt for you
I knew

The only thing to say.

"It's OK to cry."

I don't know
what you cried for
that day:
Fear of the future?
Longing for the past?
Something else, maybe.

So my tears
were for only one thing:
No longer a stranger
I cried
for the pain
of a friend.

and I'm still crying for you.
May the day soon come
when there will be no more cause for tears
and those of us who shared pain
can truly be part of the shared joy.

Giving

Looking from afar
I saw
that which
you haven't
you can't
and I do.

Now I know:
While I talk,
You pray;
While I think,
You feel;
While I do,
You are.

They call me
the caregiver
and you
the invalid.

But as I look
after you --
You teach
my clouded eyes
to see.

And as I lend
my hands to you --
You fill
my hollow heart
with love.

Looking from afar
they ask
why
and how
I "do it."
It's a fair trade -
and I got the better deal!

For A and E -- I am so lucky to know you. Thanks for all your love.