Lesson learned

I won't soon forget
my friend
we shared many
a spring afternoon
and secrets joined
shared treasures
I will keep forever...
She believed
in my fantasies
of life lived forever,
an intangible dream...
She sensed my need
to deny the inevitable...
She listened
to all my ramblings
always... in patience...
Fantasies lived out
on a covered patio...
Troubles are the tools
God uses
to fashion us for better
understanding...
If we only have enough
faith... in his works...
She allowed me
to be close to her
despite her deep pain
because I needed
someone...
She gave me a gift
so rarely received
by such... as I
She taught me
how to deal with
life's final curtain
with dignity...
unable in her suffering
to teach me more
about living...
In her generosity
she instructed me
how to deal with
the art of... dying
One more terminal life
aren't we all
in our own way?
During those final days
trying to hide her agony
I learned more
to accept life as a gift
to be redeemed in time
then I ever had
during my lifetime
including the reality
of my own mortality...
People, ones we love
and care for
too often are perceived
as diseases
conditions without substance
We involved in life
don't want to
become deeply involved with
by shedding a single tear
to show emotion...
This battle of conflict
rages in our guts
crying out for release...
In all objectivity
we know...death.

06141977